


No Tomorrow

by snibnoom



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2018-12-24 00:23:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 36,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12001047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snibnoom/pseuds/snibnoom
Summary: At first, Bin had been accepting.  Two days in a row that seemed to be exactly the same?  He had to be having a bad case of Déjà vu.  On the third day, Binknewsomething was wrong.Bin had triedeverything.  He had said everything someone would say before they said it for every single time he talked to someone.  He tried being late for school.  He tried getting a haircut.  He was mean to his mom, to his dad, to his younger sister.  He skipped class.  He crashed his car.  He got a tattoo.  He ate nothing but pizza for the entire day.  He broke every window in their house.  He even died.Three times.It isn’t until Bin realizes that he isn’t alone, that another one of his classmates is stuck in this same time loop that he is, that Bin thinks things might get better.  There’s finally a glimmer of light at the end of his never ending tunnel.That light is much further away than Bin can even begin to imagine.





	1. [PART 1] Day 363

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _It’s such a familiar scene, like déjà vu_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGav-z5yRiU)

At first, Bin had been accepting. Two days in a row that seemed to be exactly the same? He had to be having a bad case of Déjà vu. By the third day, Bin _knew_ something was wrong. The weird looks he got from people told him that nobody else was aware of what was happening. He was constantly waking up in the same day. 

Bin had tried _everything_. He had said everything someone would say before they said it for every single time he talked to someone. He tried being late for school. He tried getting a haircut. He was mean to his mom, to his dad, to his younger sister. He skipped class. He crashed his car. He got a tattoo. He ate nothing but pizza for the entire day. He broke every window in their house. He even died. _Three times_. 

It was pointless. Bin was stuck in a time loop with no end in sight. Everything he did just reset the next day. He had twenty four hours to do whatever he wanted with absolutely no consequences. Honestly, at first, he had taken advantage of it. Bin had told the girl he liked that he liked her. When she told him that she didn’t feel the same way, yeah, Bin was heartbroken. He got over it after a week of seeing her and realizing that she had absolutely no idea what he had done. The tattoo had been a good choice, too. Bin has always been a little more interested than the normal person in body modifications. Surprisingly, it hurt a lot more than he expected it to despite the fact that it had been just a small moon on his bicep. His cartilage piercing had hurt, too. The tattoo and his new piercing had both been gone at midnight.

The weirdest days had been the days where he died. On those days, Bin had been lost in thought. Two months into the repetitive days is when he died for the first time. Instead of stopping at the cross walk on the way to school like he was supposed to, he kept walking. The bus came out of nowhere. It had actually been quite painless. His entire body had felt hot, then the pain, and then he felt numb, and then there was nothing. He had been aware of the nothingness, too. The very next day, he crashed his car. Bin knew there was a chance he wouldn’t wake up at midnight like he usually did. It was totally possible that he would die and it would be over. Five months into living the same day, though, Bin was ready for it to be over.

He had always wanted to know what it was like to free fall.

Two hours later, though, he had just woken up in his bed. The bright red numbers on his clock said 12:00, and Bin gave up trying to end the cycle that way. In fact, he gave up trying to alter the cycle at all. After that day, he woke up, ate breakfast, went to school, went to dance practice, came home, did his homework, and went to sleep. If oddities couldn’t end it, then perhaps keeping a routine would?

That wasn’t the answer either. Eventually, Bin gave up. He did whatever he wanted to, whatever he felt like doing when he woke up. With so much time, he actually picked up a few skills. He could now play piano. Bin could also now walk around his house with his eyes closed and not bump into anything. These were minor achievements, but any sort of personal gain made him happy.

The weird thing was that Bin couldn’t remember the day before. At first, he was pretty sure he knew what had happened the day before this never ending Tuesday. He had gone to school, like normal. He had probably skipped dance practice. The more Tuesdays that he lived, though, the more foggy the memory of Monday got. Had he worn his blazer to school? Which shoes had he worn, his black ones or his white ones? Bin couldn’t even remember large chunks of the day. It had been raining, he knew that, but how had he gotten home? Bin isn’t quite sure. What had he eaten for dinner that night? Bin doesn’t know.

What he does know, though, is that it’s been almost a year since he has been living this same Tuesday. Bin has been keeping a journal of tally marks. Every morning, he has to redraw them because they always disappear. Today is day 363.

Bin stares at his ceiling. It’s pretty boring, honestly. There isn’t much more that he wants to do. His English has improved, at least, and he’s certain he’ll ace the end of the year exams. (He snuck into the computer files at school and got all of the lesson plans for the rest of the year, so he’ll breeze through the classes when this all ends.) Bin tried to tell Minhyuk, his underclassmen friend, about his situation once. Minhyuk had given him a weird look. Yeah, this is Bin’s past, present, and future.

Bin rolls over on his bed and grabs the piece of paper and pen on his night stand. He makes 72 groups of four lines with one line across them, and then adds on an extra three. It takes some time, but he’s gotten fast at drawing organized tally marks. As soon as he puts the paper and pen down, his clock changes to say 7:23 and his mom knocks on his bedroom door.

“Bin, you better be awake! I’ll get Sua to throw water on you again!”

Sometimes, Bin has just not answered to his mother’s calls. Today, however, he didn’t feel like being drowned and soggy before 8 in the morning. “Yeah, I’m awake,” he calls back. 

He doesn’t actually focus on the words his mom says anymore because she always says the same thing. Bin lies on his side in bed for a little while longer, wondering if maybe one day she’ll say something just the slightest bit different. Those few minutes of contemplation are enough to make him have to miss breakfast, but Bin is okay with that. He would rather show up to school on time than be late. As much as Bin didn’t like attending his classes, his homeroom teacher _never_ let in students after the bell.

Bin gets to his seat just as the bell rings. The door slides shut, pulled by his teacher, and Bin sinks down to lay his head on the table. Mr. Class President, Lee Dongmin, gets up in front of the class just like he has for the last 363 days. He calls the roll, not faltering on a single name, just like he has for the last 363 days. Bin can’t even think of anything new to say to his classmates. He picks his head up and raises his hand silently when Lee Dongmin calls his name.

 _Stupid handsome face_ , Bin thinks grumpily. _Why can’t he be the one stuck in this loop, huh? People fawn over him all the time. He would be able to do literally anything he wanted if he had the time I do. He could probably get every single person in the school to kiss him if he wanted to._

Bin wastes his home room class doodling. There’s no point in studying, because he has all of his work for the day memorized. Bin picks at his food during lunch, not really interested by it. He skips his dance practice with Minhyuk after school, opting to walk home on the same route he’s used to. But something is _off_. He doesn’t realize exactly what it is until he smacks right into Lee Dongmin as he turns a corner.

“Hey!” Bin shouts, drawing the stares from a few students nearby. “Watch where you’re going, alright? Jeez, 363 days and then _you_ change your pattern. What’s with that, huh? Why aren’t you with your fan club over there like usual?” Bin jerks his thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of the school’s courtyard.

Instead of getting an answer, though, Bin watches as Lee Dongmin’s eyes widen. Bin lets Lee Dongmin react however he wants, but only for a minute.

“What are you staring at?” Bin snaps. “I’ve got time to waste, another tally to add to my long list.” Bin stopped caring long ago about how strange his ramblings would sound to anybody else. They would all forget it at midnight anyway.

Lee Dongmin picks up his hand, pointing at Bin. Raising a brow, Bin scoffs. “What are you pointing at me for, huh?”

“363 days,” Lee Dongmin says.

Bin sighs. “Yeah, that’s what I said. This is the 363rd time I’ve lived this stupid day, and it’s the first time I’ve walked right into you, so what’s up with that? Where were you going, huh?”

Lee Dongmin doesn’t answer his question. What he says instead makes Bin freeze, and if he weren’t stuck in a time loop, he would even say that time stood still.

Bin watches Lee Dongmin’s Adam’s apple bob. “You, too?”


	2. Day 364

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _I am running every time I see you_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGWWpgcj3U0)

Bin didn’t sleep at all. The ceiling and the frogs kept him company throughout the night, thankfully. When his mom knocks on his door to rouse him, he doesn’t respond. Sua enters seven minutes later with a large blue bowl full of water. Bin tilts his head to look at her, and she stops so suddenly that some of the water sloshes out of the bowl and onto her shirt.

“Bin!” Sua yells. “Look what you made me do. Why didn’t you just answer when Mom said your name? Yeesh, seriously!”

Bin watches Sua carry the bowl out of the room, frowning at her wet shirt. He used to get a kick out of pranking Sua as many times as he could, but now he just wishes it would be over. It isn’t that simple, though. There must be some reason why he’s here, and that reason might have something to do with a certain Lee Dongmin.

 _Out of all the people_ , Bin thinks, _why does it have to be Lee Dongmin?_

Any other person and Bin would’ve happily worked together with them in an attempt to fix this time loop or whatever it’s called. But Bin sort of doesn’t like Lee Dongmin. _Mr. Class President. Mr. Perfect Grades. Mr. Never-Is-Late-To-Class-Even-When-It’s-Pouring-Raining._ Bin sighs deeply and rolls onto his side, facing away from his door. He’s skeptical of people who are so successful so easily. It seems like Lee Dongmin never has to work at anything, so Bin immediately disliked him the moment he laid eyes on him on the first day of their seventh year of school.

It had been Bin’s first year enrolled in private school, a luxury his parents worked _very_ hard to pay for. Bin was a child model, after all, and he could dance and sing decently, too. (His mom still seemed upset sometimes when Bin brought up his missed opportunity of appearing in that popular idol group’s music video. “That would’ve been your big break, Bin,” she always says.) The private school was open for all grades, and Bin had made quick friends with one particular underclassman who could dance like nobody’s business. Park Minhyuk had dragged Bin to his dance practice, where Bin had met Park Jinwoo. These two boys had been Bin’s largest form of support, but also Bin’s biggest enemies any time Lee Dongmin walked into the room.

“Just give him a chance,” Jinwoo would tease, quiet enough for only Bin to hear. “I bet he’s a good kisser.” Minhyuk would always immediately follow up any of Jinwoo’s comment with unnecessary sound effects, the most common sound being kisses. In those moments, Bin always regretted telling that pair about his preference for boys over girls (“I still like girls,” he told them, but they had already taken the idea that he was gay and ran with it). Even more so, he regretted telling them about how much he _disliked_ Lee Dongmin.

Bin guesses it’s going to be sort of hard for him to avoid Lee Dongmin now, though. They’re both aware of each other being aware of the day repeating over and over and over. Bin rolls on his bed again with a huffing release of air.

“Not fair,” Bin mumbles. “Why couldn’t it have been anybody else? It couldn’t have been Minhyuk? Or Jinwoo?” He frowns. Bin would’ve even taken _Myungjun_ over Lee Dongmin, and Bin isn’t very fond of the overly energetic older boy, either.

“Moon Bin!” his mom yells from down the hall. “Get your ass out of bed, _now_!”

It takes Bin three minutes to pull on black skinny jeans and button up his white uniform shirt. He’s securing his tie around his neck while shoving his feet into his shoes at the door. His sister’s school is across town, and Bin’s school is close enough for a bus ride. Before he leaves, his mom fixes his hair over his forehead and then she ducks into the car. Instead of stopping at the bus stop, though, Bin just keeps walking. He’ll be late by walking all the way to school, but he needs to clear his thoughts.

Clear thoughts are apparently too much of luxury for Bin right now. Halfway down his street, he hears a voice calling his name from behind. He hangs his head, watching the sidewalk under his feet, pretending not to hear. _Just leave me alone, please_ , Bin repeats over and over in his head.

“Hey! Moon Bin!”

Bin stops at the curb, tucking his chin into his chest because he knows he can’t get away. He never can get away, can he? It seems there’s always something there trying to keep him company, or something just trying to make his day into a bad one. The fact that it’s another person doing something out of the ordinary is sort of refreshing, though, so Bin lifts his head and makes eye contact with Lee Dongmin when he finally catches up.

“You aren’t going to take the bus?” Dongmin asks, his hands grasping both straps of the backpack hanging on his frame.

Bin shakes his head, forcing his eyes up. “I don’t mind being late. Usually gives me some time to clear my head.”

They walk in silence for a while. It’s still late spring, and it’s still a warm day. Bin remembers that the day before, that Monday before he got _stuck_ , it had been almost chilly. Dongmin breaks the silence between them relatively quickly, interrupting Bin’s observations of their surroundings.

“I used to notice you acting out at school, and some days you didn’t show up,” Dongmin says. “I always thought it was just a weird anomaly.”

“You thought I was an anomaly,” Bin clarifies, a small smile slipping onto his lips, unchecked. “You thought I was an _anomaly_ ,” he repeats, laughter leaking into his words.

“Is that so bad?” Dongmin asks, and Bin hears the pout in his voice but he doesn’t look at him to verify that he is, in fact, pouting. “How was I supposed to know you were repeating the day over just like I was?”

“You could’ve just, I don’t know, asked?” Bin offers. “It was pretty obvious early on that nobody remembered what happened between days.”

“I thought it must be some sort of trial.” Dongmin says it so quietly that Bin suspects it’s meant only for his own ears. He pretends that he didn’t hear it.

“What about you?” Bin asks. “You just did the exact same thing for 363 days? How?”

“Well, I didn’t do the exact same thing.” Dongmin walks ahead a little and turns, walking backwards. “I changed one thing everyday, a small thing, once I realized that I was sort of stuck in this time loop. In the movies where the main character gets stuck in a time loop, they usually have to learn everything about their surroundings or complete a certain task before the time toop breaks and they go back to their regular life.”

Bin stares at Dongmin for a moment, then nods. “Makes sense.”

Dongmin smiles a little and turns on his heel, walking forwards beside Bin now instead of backwards. Bin swings his arms exaggeratedly, watching as cars speed by on the road. He has never talked to Lee Dongmin before yesterday, but having anybody to talk to about the situation is a lot better than being alone.

“Do you remember Monday?” Dongmin asks suddenly.

Bin’s brows pulls together, and he nods. “Yeah, some parts. Other parts of it, I have no idea. Like, I know I skipped dance practice, but I have no idea how I got home. I also can’t remember what I had for dinner.”

“I can’t remember much of it either,” Dongmin says. “Some parts are really vivid. I remember that I spilled my milk during lunch, but I can’t remember almost anything from after school, it seems.”

“Maybe an effect of being in a time loop for so long?” Bin suggests. “It’s not like there’s a lot of scientific evidence or whatever behind this kind of thing.”

“I’ve done a lot of research over it, though.” Bin glances at Dongmin, raising a brow as a silent question. Dongmin doesn’t need to be prodded.

“People have reported, or I guess _claimed_ , being trapped in a repeating timeline. Usually everybody else is aware of it, though, and it isn’t that the same things are happening constantly, but rather it’s like they already know everything that’s going to happen even if it’s different. Time loops also seem to be just extended cases of déjà vu.” Dongmin smacks his lips. “ _This_ , though, is really weird.”

They walk in silence for a while after that. Bin has to agree. The situation they’re in is unlike any sort of déjà vu he experienced before. He wonders how many other people might be trapped in this time loop with them, unaware that he and Dongmin are aware of the repeating day. How many other people are wandering around, doing whatever they want with no consequences?

“We should try to figure out a way to stop it,” Dongmin says. “Actively try to break the time loop.”

Bin nods a bit, then speaks. “You’re right, but how are we supposed to stop it when we don’t even know what caused it?”

“Fair point,” Dongmin says, “but I think it would be dumb to not at least attempt to find a solution even with nothing to go on.”

“Alright,” Bin says. “Then what do we do first, smarty pants?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I found some time to write, and I'm back with an update! Hope you enjoy, and I'll be hard at work to figure out the next chapter in a more timely manner for my lovely readers~^^
> 
> Leave a comment! I love reading your comments, and even if I don't reply, I promise I read it!


	3. Day 367

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _But my fate is in your hands_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtjxZoa_LHM)

Bin purposely makes himself late leaving the house, waiting until his mom and sister have been gone for a while before he finally leaves. He has a plan. It’s going to take action at the perfect moment for it to work, though, so he needs to show up to the bus stop _after_ Mr. Perfect, also known as Lee Dongmin. Bin jogs down the sidewalk, past the bus stop he usually boards at. He’s scanning the line of people boarding the bus at the next stop. At the last moment he possibly can, Bin grabs Dongmin’s backpack and pulls him backwards. The older boy lets out a confused noise and stumbles.

“Bin?” Dongmin says, straightening himself up. “What are you doing? We’re going to be late.”

“You’re not getting on that bus today,” Bin answers. “We’re skipping today.”

“Skipping?” Dongmin looks at him with a wild look of confusion plastered across his face.

Bin smiles. “Yeah, we’re skipping.”

“But Bin, it’s _school_.”

“Yeah, but you’ve already lived it for 366 days, so do you really need to show up for a 367th time?”

Bin watches as Dongmin’s shoulders fall and his chest deflates. He knows Bin is right. They stand there as the bus leaves, and Dongmin folds his arm over his chest. If he had known that missing school would’ve made Dongmin pout like this, Bin might have done it a few days ago. That second day, day 364, they had boarded this exact same bus and made it into their class just in time. The days between then and now had been spent mostly doing research after school hours to try and find some way to break the time loop. All the options they found had been things they already had done on their own. Today, Bin is changing Dongmin’s schedule drastically.

“Okay, now what?” Dongmin snaps. “What could we possibly need to skip school for?”

“You’ll see,” Bin says, and he starts walking. “Come on, we’re taking the subway.”

“The _subway_?” Dongmin asks loudly. “Bin, what the he—”

“Just be patient, alright?” Bin says, looking over his shoulder at Dongmin.

Dongmin is pouting, but Bin doesn’t mind. It isn’t _that_ bad to skip school, is it? This isn’t Bin’s first time skipping school. He’ll usually show up for the first few classes of the day, get bored, and leave early. His parents always miss the phone calls, and Bin always gets home before his parents so he can delete the messages left on their phone.

The entire time they’re walking, Dongmin is pouting. Even when they’ve reached the subway, Dongmin is still pouting. Bin sighs.

“Your face will stick like that if you keep pouting,” Bin teases.

“That’s incorrect,” Dongmin mutters, shifting in his seat beside him. His pout lessens anyway.

“You’re not used to skipping school, are you?”

“I haven’t missed school since the fourth grade.”

“Not even when you were sick?”

“I don’t get sick.”

“What’s 22 times 47?”

Dongmin’s head lifts, and he looks at Bin. “What? How would I know?”

Bin shrugs, smirking. “I was checking that you’re not a robot. You don’t skip school, you don’t get sick, you manage, like, six extracurriculars on top of keeping your grades all above a low A.”

“Your point?” Dongmin crosses his arms over his chest again.

“It’s unnatural,” Bin says. He pokes Dongmin’s upper arm. “On top of all of that, you’re in shape and you have a decent social life.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Dongmin responds. He unfolds his arms, instead loosely clasping his hands in his lap. “My social life doesn’t extend far outside of the classroom.”

Bin scoffs. “Whatever. I’ve seen you on people’s Instagram accounts, at the movies or riding bikes at the park or hanging out and singing karaoke. You’re the definition of Mr. Perfect. The only thing you’re missing is a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, well, that won’t happen,” Dongmin half-whispers.

Bin is going to ask what he means when the subway coming to a stop interrupts him. He gets up from his seat, hiking his backpack up on his shoulder. Dongmin follows without needing to be prompted. 

Bin guesses it’ll take them about ten minutes to walk to their final location from the subway, but he doesn’t expect those ten minutes to be spent entirely in silence like they are. Dongmin is unresponsive to most things Bin says. He doesn’t entertain any of Bin’s ideas for ending the time loop. Instead of prodding, Bin leaves him alone. As they walk, Bin slides off his tie and stuffs it in his backpack. Dongmin does the same as him once Bin points out that they would be taken right back to school if someone realized they were high school students. When they finally arrive, Dongmin stops and stares up at the building instead of following Bin in right away.

“What’s the matter?” Bin asks.

“It’s—”

“Dirty?”

“No.”

“Unusual?”

“I guess you could say that.”

Bin backs up from the door and stands beside Dongmin, looking up at the building. It’s not giant, only three stories, but every window is decorated with art. A spiral staircase on the left side of the building leads up to a second story balcony, where there are two more doors to two other privately-owned businesses. Bin lived nearby before they moved to where he lives currently, so Bin personally knows the people who own the businesses.

“Let’s go inside,” Bin says. “It’s a cool place, I promise.”

Dongmin nods a little and follows Bin into the shop on the ground floor. It’s a relatively small cafe, half of the area being devoted to a kitchen hidden behind a wall accessed only through a door with an _employees only_ sign on it. Bin, however, knows that an unlocked door in the alley will also let you in. He worked here for a summer once. He got fired when his boss accused him of using the job to get discounts on food. Even so, they’re still on good terms.

“Over here.” Bin goes straight for the same 2-person booth he always sits in when he visits alone. There’s orange flowers set on the silver, retro-styled tables. The aura of the whole place has always been one of Bin’s favorite things. Teal booths and silver tables matched with the menu of the place gives it the sort of vibe one sees in 80’s American movies about kids in high school.

“We’re getting smoothies,” Bin announces as Dongmin sits down. He sets his backpack on the seat beside him and squishes it into the wall. Dongmin opts to set his own backpack on the floor between his feet.

The menus are tucked into a holder on the edge of the table closest to the wall. Bin grabs one out and hands it to Dongmin. “Get whatever else you want. My treat.”

Dongmin immediately starts to stammer out a refusal, but Bin holds up his hand. “Nope. Whatever you want, I’ll pay.”

Fifteen minutes later, they have two large smoothies with thick straws set before them. Bin had really tried to convince Dongmin to order something else, but he had aggressively denied the offer. 

“Have you died?”

Dongmin sputters, coughing to clear whatever smoothie had been stuck in his throat. “ _What_?”

“In the time loop,” Bin says. “Like, from an accident or on purpose?”

“Why would I— No, I haven’t died.”

“Maybe that’s why we’re still in the time loop.”

“Have _you_?”

Bin nods. “Several times. The first few were an accident, but the last one was on purpose.”

Dongmin swallows visibly. “What if you hadn’t come back?”

Bin stares at his smoothie, brows drawing together. He’d never thought of that before. He feels sort of invincible, stuck in this time loop. “Well,” he says, “I guess I would’ve been dead, then.”

“I’m glad you’re not,” Dongmin says softly. Bin can’t help but think that Dongmin is especially cute when he says that, his head half bowed as he stirs his smoothie with his straw.

Bin opens his mouth to talk again, when he hears the bell above the cafe door ring. An officer has just walked in, and he’s looking right at them.

“Hey,” the officer says, “shouldn’t you two be in school?”

Dongmin has a panicked look on his face. Bin swallows, opening and closing his mouth several times. “I’m sorry,” he says, his pronunciation all wrong. “I don’t understand.”

The officer immediately straightens. He offers a quick apology. He’s gone as quick as he had arrived. They sit in silence for a moment.

Dongmin breaks the silence. “Why did you do that? Why did you pretend you didn't know Korean? He was a police officer.”

“Did you want to get taken back to school?” Bin asks.

Dongmin frowns. “No, I guess not. But it feels wrong to have lied to him.”

Bin shrugs. “He won’t remember our faces when he wakes up tomorrow anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! My stories are back! Everything will start getting updated again, slowly but surely. I haven't had any time to write in about 2 months, so bare with me haha


	4. Day 373

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _Even if we’re not that close, I still have to try_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Oi8jDMvd_w)

Bin bumps his shoulder against Dongmin’s. “Come on, you’re so worried over something that’s not even permanent.”

“Technically it _is_ permanent. It’ll last the rest of the day.”

“And tomorrow when we wake up, it’ll be gone.” Bin smiles at Dongmin’s tiny pout. Why had he never realized how cute Dongmin was before? He’s been in classes with Dongmin for several years and only ever thought of him as annoying. Bin sort of wants to throw his arm around Dongmin’s shoulder as they walk, but he resists.

“How are you going to pay for it anyway? I mean, dying your hair is expensive, isn’t it?”

“Oh, right.” Bin pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and waves a credit card in the air. “It’s my mom’s.”

Dongmin’s eyes widen. “You _stole_ your mom’s card?”

Bin sighs. “It’s fine, Dongmin, jeez. Everything is temporary, remember?”

Dongmin frowns. “Yeah, everything except this time loop’s existence. I’m not sure it’ll ever end.”

“At least you have me,” Bin says without thinking.

“Yeah, I have you.” Dongmin kicks a rock, but he’s smiling a little. 

Bin lets out the breath he had been holding. “Come on.” He grabs Dongmin’s arm, tugging him slightly. “The station is this way.”

Neither of them had had the foresight to call the salon early and make a reservation, so they sit around for the better part of an hour. Bin constantly asks Dongmin which color he thinks he should dye his hair. Dongmin answers every question with “I don’t know, I guess that looks good.” Bin sits sideways in the waiting chair, his legs over the side and his back pressed into Dongmin’s shoulder.

“You go first,” Bin says, closing the style magazine he’s been reading.

“Me?” Dongmin asks, surprise in his voice. “I’m not dying my hair.”

“Come on!” Bin twists around in the chair to face Dongmin. “If you let me pick a color for you, I’ll let you pick a color for me.”

Dongmin frowns. Bin wants to poke his fingers into Dongmin’s cheeks and pull his frown into a smile. He really likes Dongmin’s smile.

“Fine,” Dongmin says finally.

Bin doesn’t let Dongmin see what color he picks, making sure he can’t see the reflection in any of the mirrors. Dongmin is smart though, so he guesses the color within just a few choices. Bin, on the other hand, can’t guess what color his hair the entire time he’s sitting in the chair. Dongmin enjoys Bin’s struggling too much, giggling with every wrong guess.

“You _swear_ it’s not red?” Bin asks for the third time. Red was what he would’ve chosen for himself.

“I swear it’s not red.” Dongmin grins from ear to ear. “You’re not even close.”

Bin resists the temptation to reach up and scrape some of the dye off his hair so he can see it. “I bet it’s something weird.”

Dongmin shrugs and runs a hand through his hair. “Maybe. Blonde was pretty weird, too.”

Bin smiles. “At least it looks good.”

Dongmin looks at himself in the mirror, still messing with his slightly-damp hair. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

******

Bin touches his hair, still in awe as they walk away from the salon. “I can’t believe you picked _blue_.”

Dongmin laughs. “Why? Too weird?”

“It’s just not what I would’ve picked.”

“You said I could pick whatever I wanted.” Dongmin shrugs. “I thought it would be a fun color. I mean, you picked blonde for me. _Blonde._ ”

“At least blonde is a natural color. It’s not… _blue._ I didn’t think you would pick blue.”

Dongmin laughs. He steps ahead a few steps and turns, walking backwards. “Don’t you trust me?”

Bin rolls his eyes. “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have let you pick the color my hair is going to be for the rest of the day.”

Dongmin walks silently for a little while, just looking at him. “Don’t worry about it too much. You still look good.”

Bin raises his brows. “ _I_ still look good?” He had heard that right, right? Dongmin hadn’t said his _hair_ looked good. Dongmin said _he_ looked good. He _still_ looked good.

“Uh, your hair, I mean. I meant your hair still looks good.” Dongmin turns, walking beside Bin instead of ahead of him.

Bin smiles a little. “Mhm,” he hums.

******

Bin shoves his hands into his pockets. It’s gotten cold out as the day has gone on, and he’s without a jacket. Dongmin is too, shivering slightly beside him. Their day had been spent ignoring phone calls from their family and going from one store to another. Bin had even dragged Dongmin into a mattress store so he could take a quick nap in the middle of the afternoon. Some of his hair dye had bled out onto the perfect white pillow.

Now, though, they stand side by side in silence. There’s a large clock tower across from them, a field filled with trees and bushes spanning the area. They should’ve gone home earlier, but they just _didn’t._ It’s not like Bin minds. What he does mind is the silence.

With just silence between them, Bin can’t help but think. He wonders what Dongmin’s reaction would be if he grabbed his hand, if he kissed him. He also pushes through those thoughts to try and come up with any new way to break the time loop that they haven’t solved yet. He’s died, he’s spent the entire day in bed. Dongmin had told him of several attempts he’d taken too, like missing his bus or letting a classmate cheat off his test in class. Bin can’t help but wonder what would happen if they _both_ died. Would that end the time loop?

“What if we can’t get out of this?” Dongmin’s voice is quiet, but it startles Bin anyway.

“We will,” Bin says. “I know we will. There’s no way this is going to go on for eternity.”

“What if it does?” Dongmin looks at him. “What if there’s no way out of it? What if we’re trapped here together? Or what if one day you aren’t aware of the time loop, and I’m alone?”

“You won’t be alone,” Bin says, his voice firm. “I won’t let that happen.”

Dongmin’s eyes are wide and glossy as if he’s holding back tears. “What if we’re trapped here forever?”

“Then we will be.” Bin shrugs. “It’ll be me and you for the rest of eternity. Not that bad, right? You can do a lot in 24 hours.”

Dongmin crosses his arms over his chest and looks at the clock again. “Doesn’t feel like it.”

“We could go to China in 24 hours. And Japan. Or Australia.” Bin looks sideways at Dongmin. “We could take a trip to Jeju. We could rob a bank. We could—”

“Did you just say we could _rob a bank_?”

Bin laughs. “Yeah. I mean, we could, technically. We could steal a car. We could prank the school. We could hide out in an amusement park and enjoy it all by ourselves after closing time.” He smiles at Dongmin’s goofy look. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re so strange,” Dongmin says. “You come up with all of these ideas and— Aren’t you bothered that we might never get our normal lives back?”

Bin’s smile fades away, and he looks at the big clock. “I don’t know. I guess I just have so many possibilites now without any consequences that going back seems like a burden. I’ve done so many things that I’ve always wanted to do since this thing started.”

“It’s been over a year, Bin. Don’t you want things to go back to how they were?”

Bin is quiet for a moment, then he shakes his head. “No, not really. I’m not the same person I was a year ago. There are still things I want to do, anyway.”

“Like what?”

Bin watches the second hand on the big clock driving them towards midnight. There’s less than ten seconds.

“Like this,” Bin says.

He steps in front of Dongmin and presses their lips together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Best case scenario, I'll have part 1 of this fic finished by Christmas. I'm thinking 9 more chapters in this part? I might cut some of them down... Anyway, let me know what you thought of _this_ chapter in the comments below! I try to respond to as many comments as I can, but I can't always respond to all of them. I do, however, always read every comment I get!!


	5. Day 374

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _If somebody loves me, I’m fine with that_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5HWrQVuHas)

Bin blinks and touches his chest, feeling the soft fabric of his bedsheets covering his body. The ceiling stares back at him. _Did I make the right choice?_

He rolls onto his side and gathers his blankets against his chest. Hopefully Dongmin will just forget he even did it. Maybe things done right around midnight can be forgotten, even though they’re aware of the time loop? Bin closes his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep.

Sleep does come, but it’s just a fleeting moment. Loud knocking rouses him. Bin groans as he sits up and untangles his legs from his bedsheets. The knocking is coming from his window, and it’s actually Dongmin standing right outside. _Maybe I made the wrong choice._

“You kissed me.”

Bin blinks. “What?”

Dongmin crosses his arms against his chest. “You _kissed_ me. Why did you do that?”

“I didn’t do that,” Bin tries. Maybe he can lie his way out of it. He doesn’t want to take it back, but Dongmin doesn’t seem happy.

“Yes, you did.” Dongmin steps closer to his window. He’s a whole foot shorter than Bin, and Bin is pretty sure Dongmin is stepping all over his mother’s garden. “You kissed me. Why did you kiss me?”

“I, uh, well…” Bin rubs his neck, looking away from Dongmin. “I sort of like you, I guess?”

“You _guess_?”

Bin bites back a yell when Dongmin grabs his shirt and yanks him forward. He grabs the window frame to keep himself from topping out of the window.

“W-Wait, hang on,” Bin stammers. He’s eye level with Dongmin now. “I’m going to fall.”

Dongmin ignores him. “Do you think it’s okay to just _kiss_ a person without asking?”

Dongmin tugs his shirt again, and Bin feels himself tilt forward dangerously.

“W-Woah, woah!” Bin exclaims. He grips the window frame tightly. “Unless you want me to fall on top of you in addition to kissing you, you need to let me go.”

Dongmin lets go of Bin’s shirt, flinging it back at Bin, really. Bin straightens his shirt and climbs out his window. The dew coating the ground seeps through his socks.

“Okay,” Bin says. “Yeah, I kissed you.”

“And?”

Bin swallows. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t ask first, but I’m not sorry that I did it.” There. He said it. Maybe he was wrong in assuming that Dongmin felt the same way about him. Dongmin might not even like boys. Bin really should’ve thought about that.

“Do you actually like me?” Dongmin’s voice is quiet.

“Yeah, I said so, didn’t I?”

“But why did you do it?”

Bin shrugs. “Because I wanted to. And I guess I thought that maybe you wouldn’t remember it if I did it right at midnight?”

Dongmin just stares at him for a moment. Bin leans back against his house, his back pressing into the window frame uncomfortably. He won’t admit that he made a dumb decision, though, so he deals with the uncomfortableness of it.

“Okay,” Dongmin says finally.

“Okay?” Bin doesn’t get it.

“Yeah. I’m going home.”

Dongmin turns around and walks out towards the street. Bin stands in dumbfounded silence for several seconds before he chases after Dongmin.

“Wait, hang on. Do you like me, too?”

Dongmin stops in his tracks only a couple steps away from Bin.

“I confessed my feelings,” Bin says. “The least you can do is tell me if you feel the same way.”

Dongmin doesn’t turn to face him, so Bin takes the steps necessary to put himself in front of him. “Listen, if you don’t just say so. We can still work together to find a way out of this never ending cycle of Tuesda—”

Bin makes a funny noise in the back of his throat when Dongmin’s lips against his own cuts off his sentence. Dongmin is holding him by his shoulders. It only lasts a few seconds, and then Dongmin’s lips and hands are gone.

Silence stretches between them for a moment. Bin blinks. “You get made at me for not asking to kiss _you_ , but then you do it and it’s okay?”

Dongmin is touching his lips gently. “When you like someone and they like you back, shouldn’t that give you free reign?”

Bin smiles wide enough that he’s worried his cheeks might start to rip. “You like me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Dongmin says. He still isn’t looking at Bin.

Bin puts a hand on either side of Dongmin’s face and pulls his head up until Dongmin has to look at him. He stares at Dongmin, and a smile slowly grows on the other’s face.

“I need to get home,” Dongmin says. “I need to sleep.”

“Right,” Bin says, dropping his hands from Dongmin’s face. “Of course.”

Is Dongmin blushing? Bin resists the urge to touch Dongmin’s hair. “Alright,” Dongmin says softly. “I’ll see you later.”

“Right,” Bin repeats.

Dongmin doesn’t move for a moment, then he side steps Bin. “Bye.”

“See ya,” Bin says. 

He watches Dongmin walk off his yard, down the street, and he keeps staring after Dongmin until he’s completely out of view. Only then does Bin jump up and down. He claps his hands over his mouth when he squeals. It takes him too long to climb back up into his bedroom. Bin lays on his bed, staring at the ceiling with his fingers against his lips until he can finally fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Confessions!
> 
> Make sure you leave a comment! I love knowing what you guys think~


	6. Day 380

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _Don’t let go the hands holding together_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcytstV1_XE)

Dongmin holds the straps of his backpack, rocking gently from his heels to his toes and back again. He doesn’t know why his heart keeps bouncing around in his chest any time he’s even close to Bin. It’s ridiculous. It’s been 6 days, and he’s still nervous. Bin has even kissed him several times since he confessed his feelings, and Dongmin _still_ feels nervous. He feels like there’s a giant sign above him saying I kissed Bin.

Bin boards the bus before he does, and as such, he gets the window seat. Dongmin sets his backpack between his legs. The same people as always board the bus. There will be two stops before they reach the private high school he and Bin attend. Dongmin had this all memorized even before the time loop had stared. The door of the bus slides shut, and at the same time, Bin’s fingers brush lightly against his own.

Dongmin pulls his hand up to his chest, glancing from Bin’s hand up to his eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I was trying to hold your hand,” Bin says. “Will you let me, or do I need to ask permission to do that, too?”

Dongmin scowls. “Don’t tease me.”

“But you’re fun to tease.”

Dongmin’s scowl deepens. He wishes Bin wouldn’t tease him so much, but he enjoys the constant attention he gets from Bin. Prior to the time loop, Dongmin had only dreamed of doing anything slightly romantic with another boy, let alone with Bin. In fact, Bin was never the guy he imagined holding hands with. Even so, Dongmin slides his fingers between Bin’s.

The bus ride is bumpy, but he doesn’t mind. Bin’s thumb is tracing small patterns on his hand while the bus bumps along. He’s not even looking at Dongmin, but Dongmin feels like Bin is giving him all his attention. Is this what normal people in normal relationships feel like? Dongmin bites the inside of his cheeks to hide his smile.

“Dongmin.”

He blinks, looking at Bin. “What?”

“This is our stop.”

Dongmin looks past Bin, seeing their school. The decision is easy. Dongmin doesn’t slide out of the bus seat. He squeezes Bin’s hand gently. Bin gives him a confused look as the bus rolls forward.

“Why didn’t you get off?” Bin asks.

Dongmin shrugs. “I don’t really need to go to school _again_ , do I?”

Bin smiles a little. Dongmin ducks his head, looking at his knees because Bin’s smile makes a thousand balloons inflate and bounce around in his stomach. _And I just want to keep holding your hand._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I would throw in something from Dongmin's perspective for a bit of change!
> 
> Leave me comments! I love reading comments, and I try to respond to as many as I can~


	7. Day 386

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _Stop looking at the mirror, there’s nothing that needs fixing_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewjucLierFc)

It’s hard to tell what’s worse: dealing with being handed the same worksheets in class or dealing with the noise. The hallways seem obnoxiously loud today, as if someone had turned the volume knob from eight to eleven suddenly. Bin clenches his jaw as he shoves through a group of underclassmen. Normally he should be heading towards his last class of the day, but he feels like skipping, so he will. There’s a large field at the back of the school, usually for soccer. Right now it should be unoccupied.

Bin ignores Minhyuk when he calls out to him, just like he has before. It’s not like it matters. Minhyuk won’t remember once midnight comes around. Bin wonders if the cost of nobody else remembering what happens from day to day is himself not remembering what had happened on Monday and not knowing what will happen on Wednesday.

“Bin!”

Bin ignores the voice. He needs to get outside. The fresh air is calling his name.

“Bin!”

He stops with a sigh, closing his eyes. _Just pay attention for two seconds so they’ll leave you alone. You can do that, right? Just listen to what they have—_

Bin’s eyes fly open when he feels arms reach around his waist. He blinks at the hug from Dongmin. Had Dongmin been the one calling his name? Bin can’t say for sure. He _can_ say for sure that the students still walking to their classes are openly staring.

“Dongmin, what are you—”

“Just hug me back.”

Bin smiles a little and wraps his arms around Dongmin. He realizes Dongmin doesn’t have on his backpack, and his voice sounds a bit thick. Has Dongmin been crying? He really hopes not. Bin glares at everybody who gives them a weird look until Dongmin pulls away.

Dongmin _had_ been crying. His eyes are rimmed with red.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Bin ducks to be on the same eye level with Dongmin.

“Nothin’,” Dongmin murmurs. “I just.. No, it’s nothing.”

Bin slides his fingers between Dongmin’s, tilting his head and smiling a little at Dongmin. “You can tell me anything. I mean, who else understands your situation like I do?”

Dongmin chokes out a laugh. Bin is relieved to hear that it isn’t forced. “Yeah, I know. I, um— Okay, can we talk somewhere else? Everybody is staring.”

“Of course.” Bin links his fingers tightly with Dongmin’s and pulls him through the hall. People stare as they walk by, but one look from Bin and they avert their eyes. Bin doesn’t stop walking until they’ve reached the bleachers on the far side of the field. He drops his backpack on the grass and makes Dongmin sit down.

“Okay,” Bin says, “who hurt you?”

Dongmin laughs, but only for a moment. “Nobody hurt me. Well, I guess I hurt myself. I had too much free time and I started thinking and I realized that..” 

Dongmin’s expression darkens. Bin grabs Dongmin’s fingers gently.

“I realized that I can’t tell my parents anything.” Dongmin’s voice is shaky. “I mean, I could, but they would just forget it. It wouldn’t actually mean anything in the end.” Dongmin takes in a deep breath. “Telling anybody anything of any substance isn’t going to mean anything in the long run. They’ll just forget.”

Bin squeezes Dongmin’s hand and sits beside him. “You have me.”

Dongmin nods, brushing his thumb over Bin’s index finger. “I know, but I don’t have anybody else.” He looks up quickly. “Don’t take that the wrong way. I mean, I’m really glad that we aren’t alone. I’m glad we have each other. I don’t know how I got through almost a year alone. If you suddenly didn’t know anymore—”

“That won’t happen.” Bin kisses Dongmin’s hand. “I promise. I won’t let that happen.”

“How do you know it won’t happen?” Dongmin asks, and he sounds legitimately scared.

“I.. I don’t know.” Bin bites his bottom lip, then shakes his head. “No, I won’t let it happen. No chance. I won’t forget, so tell me all of your problems and worries and doubts.”

Dongmin smiles, ducking his head. “Okay.”

Bin drops Dongmin’s hand in favor of hugging him tightly. Dongmin presses into his chest comfortably.

“Don’t cry anymore, okay?” Bin says. “I don’t want to see you crying.” The thought of Dongmin crying over this same issue before they had realized they were both aware of the time loop crosses Bin’s mind. He immediately pushes it away. He wants Dongmin to never cry again.

“Hey! Why aren’t you in class?”

Bin looks across the field, where a man in a highlighter yellow vest is jogging towards them. Dongmin laughs.

“Time to go!” Bin announces. He swings his backpack onto his shoulder and hops off the bleachers.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

Bin glances at the man. He holds his hand out towards Dongmin, who smiles widely. Bin really likes that smile. “So,” Bin says, “shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dongmin... Poor Dongmin...
> 
> Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought. Let me know what you _think_ is going to happen? Poor boys have been stuck in this time loop for over a year... why do you think that is~?


	8. Day 392

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _I was alone, and I suddenly got afraid_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgLah5W7yK0)

Dongmin looks up from his book, catching Bin looking at him. He smiles a little when Bin immediately looks away. It’s cute.

“Having any luck?”

Bin glances up from the book, shakes his head, and looks back down at the book. Dongmin leans back in his chair. They had decided to head to the nearest, largest library in hopes that their books would hold some sort of answers. Dongmin has skimmed through three books, and he hasn’t seen a single thing about time loops.

“I’m going to get different books,” Bin announces suddenly. He closes the book he has in front of him quite loudly, and his chair makes a terrible noise when he pushes it back.

Dongmin watches in confusion as Bin storms off to a random aisle in the library. He isn’t the only one who stares after Bin, either, his outburst having claimed the attention of several others sitting nearby. Dongmin pushes his chair back much quieter and follows after Bin.

He finds Bin in a row of scientific journals, but he doesn’t seem to actually be looking at the books. He’s facing the shelves, sure, but his posture doesn’t suggest that he’s reading the titles on the spines. Dongmin steps up to Bin quietly, standing beside him and actually looking at the books.

“Scientific journals,” Dongmin says. “Might be a good place to look.”

Bin doesn’t say anything.

“Maybe it’s an astronomical anomaly?” Dongmin asks aloud. “Maybe the earth got sucked up by a black hole, and this is what happened?”

Bin doesn’t offer any input.

Dongmin faces Bin. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Bin snaps. He turns in the opposite direction, leaving the aisle and disappearing into another one.

“Awesome,” Dongmin mumbles. 

He follows after Bin, though it takes him several minutes to find him. As soon as Bin spots him, he slides out of the chair and starts walking away. Dongmin jogs to catch Bin before he can disappear from sight.

“Don’t run away from me,” Dongmin says, grabbing Bin’s wrist. “You’re trapped with me, so if you’re mad at me, you should just—”

“Do you even like me?”

Dongmin drops Bin’s wrist. “What?”

Bin turns to face him. “Do you actually like me? Are you sure you don’t just like me because I’m the last man standing?”

“Bin, what are you—”

“You said that you don’t have anybody else. How am I supposed to know that you actually like me for me, and not just because I’m the only one, when you’re so focused on getting back to what there was before?”

Dongmin blinks. Bin is talking loudly, and there are probably people that have heard him already.

“I _do_ like you,” Dongmin says.

Bin shakes his head. “How am I supposed to know that? You could be lying. This whole time loop could be because of you. I could just be here to fulfill some fantasy you have of dating a guy, something you wouldn’t be able to do before the days started repeating.”

“That’s not true.”

“It’s been 400 days, Dongmin. Almost 400 days of the same Tuesday. I’m losing my mind. I thought I was fine, but this is getting ridiculous. I’m— I can’t—”

The way Bin suddenly cuts off and looks away makes Dongmin break. He grabs Bin, wrapping both arms tightly around him.

“Don’t talk like that,” Dongmin says softly, grabbing a handful of Bin’s shirt at his back. “You aren’t alone. _We_ aren’t alone, and I _do_ like you. It’s not just because of some stupid fantasy or whatever.”

Bin is quiet for a moment, arms hanging limp by his side. Dongmin doesn’t let Bin go.

“If circumstances were different, do you think you would still like me?”

“Absolutely yes,” Dongmin said immediately. He pulls back, holding Bin at arm's length, and looks him in the eyes. “If there were no repeating Tuesdays and something had still forced us together, I would’ve fallen for you just as quickly as I did when living the same day over and over. The time loop is what brought us together, not what made me have feelings for you.”

Bin swallows visibly. “But—”

“Stop,” Dongmin says. “I’m not done. Bin, you’re so _stupid_ sometimes, and I mean that with the best intentions, but sometimes you start talking and it’s very obvious that you aren’t thinking straight.

“When I realized that you seemed to be taking this all in stride, living everyday like it was a new day and not the same people doing the same things no matter what, I was in awe. I spent the entire first week of this time loop crying myself to sleep every night. I tried to convince my parents that I was caught in a time loop, tried to convince my little brother. _None_ of it worked. So I put myself through doing the exact same thing every day, just like everybody else was. I didn’t take any risks. I didn’t do anything differently. I thought this was some sort of punishment.”

“What?” Bin says.

“I figured, if I was living the same day over and over, no end in sight, it had to be some sort of cosmic punishment. I didn’t know what I had done wrong, but I assumed I had to have done _something_ wrong. I felt like I was living in a prison, sentenced to a life of repeating a day of crimes that I didn’t know I was committing.

“And then one day you didn’t show up to school. I thought that maybe you knew something I didn’t, that _maybe_ you were in this just like me, but the very next day, you were back to the regular routine. I started paying attention and I noticed tiny changes in everything that everybody does, and I knew it wasn’t you. I was alone.”

“You aren’t alone,” Bin says quietly.

“And neither are you,” Dongmin says. “You’re not alone, so quit pretending you are. I like you.” Dongmin puts his hands on either side of Bin’s face. “Are you listening to me? _I like you._ You’re funny. You’re confident. You’re handsome, and you’re caring, and you’re so sure of yourself so often. Even when you’re being stupid and storming off in a library, you’re sure of yourself. But quit being stupid. I like you.”

Bin takes a deep breath, looking down. “You’re right, I’m sorry. This is all just—”

“No apologies,” Dongmin says. “Just stop being stupid.”

Bin ducks his head. “Okay.”

Dongmin wraps his arms around Bin again, and this time Bin hugs him back. He ignores the looks they get from some of the people in the library, especially when Bin pulls away and kisses him quickly on the cheek.

“Let’s go back to those scientific journals,” Dongmin says, wrapping his fingers around Bin’s. “They might have some answers for us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two angsty chapters in a row, yikes. Sorry about that~ ;)


	9. Day 397

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _Wanna go home, right? You are home_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibb5RhoKfzE)

Bin plays with Dongmin’s fingers on the bus, his head resting against Dongmin’s shoulder. “We shouldn’t even be going to school anymore. There’s no point.”

“What if there’s someone else just like us?” Dongmin asks. “Or someone new that realizes that they’re in a time loop after all this time? We know the people at school, we know what to expect them to do, so if something different happens, we know that they’re aware of the time loop just like us. And then maybe they could have some answers.”

Bin sighs. He hates when Dongmin is right. “But it’s so boring.”

“Nobody said you have to come,” Dongmin comments. “I could go by myself.”

“But I want to spend time with you,” Bin mumbles. He feels rather than hears Dongmin laugh. He likes that. It means he’s close to Dongmin. After sharing all of his concerns in the library, Bin feels closer to Dongmin than he had.

“What if we play truth or dare?” Bin asks, lifting his head off Dongmin’s shoulder. “We could spend the whole day playing truth or dare.”

“What purpose would that serve?” Dongmin asks.

Bin rolls his eyes. “It would serve the purpose of being _fun_. You know what fun is, don’t you?”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just insult me.”

Bin smiles. “Come on! Don’t take my fun away when you’re already forcing me to spend the day at the school again.”

“I’m not forcing—”

“Yes, you are. I want to spend time with you, and you’ve already set your mind on going to school all day again, so this is my only option.”

Dongmin shakes his head, looking at Bin. “You’re ridiculous,” he says, but Bin only hears the fondness in his voice.

In their homeroom class, Bin whispers to Dongmin while their teacher goes over the same announcements as always. The other students in the class gave Dongmin and Bin weird looks when Dongmin sat down beside Bin. It’s always the same. Bin understands why they give them the looks they do.

Bin leans towards Dongmin, barely avoiding tipping his own desk over. “Truth or dare,” he whispers.

Dongmin glances at him. “I’m not playing.”

“Truth or dare,” Bin repeats.

The corners of Dongmin’s mouth press deep into his cheeks, then he sighs. “Dare.”

Bin smirks. “I dare you to kiss me, right now.”

Dongmin makes a noise, something between a contained yell and a surprise squeak. Bin bites back his smile when the entirety of the class (teacher included) look at them sitting in the back of the room).

“Dongmin, is there something you want to share with the class?”

Bin watches the color rise in Dongmin’s cheeks. “N-no,” he mutters.

When their teacher has reclaimed everybody’s attention, Dongmin sinks down in his chair and hides his face in his hands. Bin tears the corner off his handout so he can scribble a quick note on it. He tosses it onto Dongmin’s desk and taps his arm.

Dongmin opens the small folded paper. Bin watches his eyes widen. He shows the note to Bin, as if Bin hadn’t just written it, and mouths, “Really?”

Bin smirks, nodding. He had written _I expect that kiss._

******

Bin skips his two classes between homeroom and lunch, opting to hang out in the dance room instead. He changes out of his school uniform and into the clothes that have been stored in his dance room locker for over a year of Tuesdays. Several teachers call him out on being out of dress code when he makes his way to the cafeteria. Bin ignores them, gets a tray, and flops down beside Dongmin.

Dongmin cocks a brow when he realizes that Bin has an absurd amount of food on his tray. “How did you manage to get so much food?”

“The lunch ladies like me,” Bin says. “They might even like me more than you do.”

Dongmin rolls his eyes. “ _Why_ did you get so much food? You can’t be that hungry when you ate breakfast.”

Bin shakes his head. “It’s not all to eat. None of it is to eat, actually.”

Dongmin gives Bin a wary look. “Bin, what are you—”

“I should start a food fight.”

“Don’t you dare,” Dongmin says immediately. “You would get in so much trouble.”

Bin sighs. “ _Fine_ ,” he grunts. “Truth or dare?”

Dongmin takes a sip from his milk carton. “Dare.”

“I dare you to dare me to start a food fight.”

Dongmin sputters. “That’s not how it works!”

“It does now,” Bin smirks. He scoops rice onto his spoon and pulls it back. 

Before Dongmin can block it, Bin lets go and the rice flings across the table, pegging some underclassman. Bin immediately does the same thing again, but flings it backwards over his shoulder. The cafeteria dissolves into a mess of flying food within minutes. In the chaos of the moment, Bin sees someone fling food into a teacher’s face.

“We have get out of here.” Dongmin is already getting out of his seat.

“Not so fast,” Bin says. He grabs Dongmin by his shirt and pulls him close enough that he can kiss him on the lips. 

Dongmin pulls back quickly, touching his lips. “Not _here_ ,” he says, blushing.

Bin laughs. “Don’t be so uptight. Nobody will remember it anyway, if they’re even paying attention.”

Dongmin seems to weigh his options for a moment. Bin smiles when Dongmin leans into him again, kissing him. The moment doesn’t last long, however, when Bin feels a mass of food hit him on the side of his head.

Dongmin laughs, flicking pieces of the food out of his hair. “We need to get out of here.”

Bin nods. “Agreed. I’m right behind you.” He flings food with his spoon again, then looks at Dongmin. “Okay, _now_ we can leave.”

******

Bin swings his hand with Dongmin’s as they walk. They left campus about fifteen minutes ago and have been walking aimlessly since. Dongmin turns to face Bin.

“Truth or dare.”

Bin smiles. Dongmin had said he wouldn’t play. “Uh, truth.”

“How much rice have you _actually_ eaten in one sitting?”

Bin laughs. “I’m not sure. I think I might’ve eaten, like, five bowls once?”

Dongmin stumbles over his words. “Seriously?”

“I could do it again, too.”

Bin laughs at Dongmin’s expression. “Please don’t,” Dongmin says.

“I’m gonna just because you don’t want me to.”

Dongmin frowns. “You’re going to give me gray hairs by stressing me out so much.”

“I stress you out?” Bin squeezes Dongmin’s hand. “You must like being stressed out, then.”

Dongmin huffs. “Please just don’t eat quickly.”

“Only for you. Okay, truth or dare.”

“Truth.”

Bin hums, looking up at the clouds as he thinks. “Okay, I got it. If you could kiss any celebrity in the whole world, who would it be?”

Dongmin laughs. “The _whole_ world?”

“The _whole_ world.”

“Leonardo DiCaprio.”

Bin laughs so loudly that it draws the attention of the people walking on the opposite side of the road. “Leonardo DiCaprio?”

“Shut up!” Dongmin whines. “He’s a good actor!”

“But he’s, like, _old_.”

Dongmin stops walking and crosses his arms over his chest. “You take that back.”

Bin laughs, tugging on Dongmin’s arms to try and get him to uncross them. “Come on, don’t be that way.”

“Take it back.”

Bin smiles. “Nope.” He sets his hands on Dongmin’s shoulders and kisses him lightly on the lips. 

Dongmin immediately uncrosses his arms, covering his mouth with a hand. “Cut that out.”

“What?” Bin smirks. “Don’t like when I kiss you? I thought you liked it.”

Dongmin frowns. “I do, but—”

Bin cuts Dongmin off by kissing him again, setting both his hands on Dongmin’s waist. He feels the tension bleed out of Dongmin’s body the longer he kisses him. Bin would’ve stayed like that for longer had a passing car not honked and made him jump.

“Asshole,” Bin mutters.

Dongmin laughs softly, so Bin faces him. “What is it?”

Dongmin shakes his head. “Nothing. You just make me happy.”

Bin smiles. Hearing that makes his heart jump around in his chest. He links his fingers with Dongmin’s and keeps walking. Hopefully he’ll always be able to make Dongmin happy. _Always?_ Bin questions in his head. _Yeah, always sounds good._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider this fluff-filled chapter an apology for the angst of the last two?
> 
> Reminder that I have a blog on [tumblr](http://snibnoom.tumblr.com/) where I sometimes post spoilers for future chapters of fics! The only ones I've talked about a lot are [_No Tomorrow_](http://snibnoom.tumblr.com/tagged/no-tomorrow) and [_Rest Your Head_](http://snibnoom.tumblr.com/tagged/rest-your-head) but you might also be able to find spoilers for future fics as well~


	10. Day 400

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _There is no such thing as an end for us_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAzWT8mRoR0)

Bin drops down to the ground beneath his window. He hesitates for several moments, waiting to see if he hears anybody waking up in the house he has just left. It’s still pitch black outside, the moon half hidden by the same clouds as always, but Bin can see the car in their driveway just fine. He darts to it. The seats are cold as he twists the key in the ignition. Dongmin is probably waiting for him, so he needs to hurry.

The drive to Dongmin’s house is quick, given that the streets are nearly abandoned. Bin even skips through a few red lights on the way. He isn’t sure if the adrenaline coursing through him is from leaving home in the middle of the night, speeding through red lights, or the thought of seeing Dongmin.

Dongmin immediately cranks the heat up in the car when he gets in. “This is so stupid,” he mutters. “Remind me why we’re doing this?”

“To celebrate 400 days of Tuesdays. I really can’t believe you haven’t been keeping count of the days.”

“I lost count after 100,” Dongmin says. “Go.”

Bin speeds off, Dongmin shouting. “Wait, slow down! Do you even _have_ your license?”

“Not with me,” Bin laughs. “I left it at home.”

“Idiot.”

The parks along the Han River are off limits after dark. Bin parks in a parking garage, sliding his fingers between Dongmin’s while they walk.

“I don’t know how you convinced me to do this,” Dongmin says as he climbs over the fence. “Seriously, we aren’t supposed to be here after dark. What if a cop shows up?”

“No cop is going to show up,” Bin sighs. He walks backwards a few steps. “Besides, even if a cop _does_ show up, we can just run back to the car.”

“But what if they catch us? We’d spend our 400th day in jail.”

Bin shrugs. “Jail isn’t that bad.” He swings his backpack off his shoulder, unzipping it. “You want a snack?”

Dongmin laughs. “You packed—Of course you did.”

Bin tosses Dongmin a bag of chips, then sits down heavily on the sloping ground. “Now we wait for the sun to rise.”

The sun takes a lot longer to rise than Bin thought it would. He plays games on his phone with Dongmin until the battery is drained. Dongmin snaps photos of him as if they’re having a nighttime photo shoot, and they take a few photos together, too. Eventually, Dongmin falls asleep with his head on the backpack. Bin doesn’t know if it’s weird to watch Dongmin sleeping. He doesn’t really care if it is.

Dongmin wakes up on his own a few hours later, just as the sun is starting to turn the sky from navy blue to a myriad of other hues. Bin pulls Dongmin into his side, arm around his back. Dongmin’s head rests comfortably on his shoulder as the sky keeps changing colors.

“It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for so long,” Dongmin almost whispers. “It’s also sort of amazing. We have so much _time_ , you know?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Bin nods a little. “I mean, I even learned how to put up with someone like you.”

Dongmin clicks his tongue, picking his head up off Bin’s shoulder so he can push him over. Bin falls over dramatically. “ _I_ should be the one saying that,” Dongmin says through his laughter.

They fall quiet again, huddling together as the sun starts to peek over the buildings. The sky is alight with blues, pinks, purples, oranges, and yellows. Bin leans back on his hands while Dongmin is sitting slightly more forward than him. Even though sunrises are great, Bin isn’t really watching the sunrise.

“I’ve never actually watched a sunrise before,” Dongmin says. “Usually on a normal day at this time, I would be waking up to finish whatever homework I couldn’t do the night before.”

Bin hums in acknowledgement. The light is catching on the edges of Dongmin’s face, turning his skin into a radiant display.

“I guess things aren’t really normal anymore, though, are they?”

“Yeah,” Bin mumbles. “Not really.” 

Bin almost opens his mouth to dish out some cheesy line about the sun and how Dongmin is brighter, but he bites his tongue when he realizes how closely Dongmin is watching the colors in the sky change. While he focuses on the light bouncing off of the buildings and the clouds, Bin focuses on Dongmin. He focuses on the light reflecting off the high planes of Dongmin’s cheeks and the smooth line of his nose. Bin moves to sit behind Dongmin, stretching his legs out on either side of him and wrapping both arms tightly around Dongmin.

Dongmin leans back into him, naturally, as if they’ve done this every day for the entirety of their lives. Bin wants it to be like this always. He wants to spend every day caught in beautiful moments where Dongmin is his only focus.

 _Oh_ , Bin thinks suddenly. He smiles a little, kissing the back of Dongmin’s shoulder.

_Do I love him?_

Bin stays quiet until the sun has breached the skyline, rising up into the sky, and the brilliant colors have turned muted. Dongmin sighs. His fingers wrap around Bin’s.

“Be my boyfriend,” Bin says.

Dongmin pulls away from him so he can turn and look at him. Bin looks at Dongmin, unable to read his expression.

“I- Uh.”

“I don’t want anybody else to have you,” Bin admits. He bows his head for a minute, then looks up at Dongmin again. “I want you to be my boyfriend. Even when we get out of this time loop, I want you to be my boyfriend.”

Dongmin’s cheeks have turned as pink as the sky was. “O-Okay.”

Bin smiles. “‘Okay’?”

Dongmin nods. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be your boyfriend.”

Bin kisses Dongmin quickly on the lips. “Good, because it would’ve been really awkward if you had said no.”

“Yeah,” Dongmin laughs. He looks away shyly.

“Oh, come _on_ ,” Bin moans. “Don’t be all shy _now_!”

“I’ll be shy if I want to,” Dongmin gripes. “Just shut up and look at the sky.”

Bin laughs and pulls Dongmin into his chest again. Dongmin shifts around until he’s comfortable, his hands holding Bin’s arms around his chest. Bin stares up at the clouds and their changing shapes. Do clouds have boyfriends? Bin thinks they might. Even if they don’t, Bin is glad he does. Bin is glad Dongmin agreed to be his.


	11. Day 411

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _I definitely like you, but strangely, I’m worried_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGav-z5yRiU)

Bin peeks over Dongmin’s shoulder, staring at the photo displayed on his phone. The photo of them at the Han River should have disappeared with everything else once midnight had rolled around. Eleven days later, though, the photo is still there.

“At this point, I’m just expecting it to stay,” Bin says. “I don’t know what’s different about the photo, though. It’s just a photo.”

“Maybe because it’s a photo of the two of us?” Dongmin ponders.

Bin shrugs. “Not sure.”

Dongmin falls quiet. Bin just stares at the photo. None of the explanations he comes up with make any sense.

“Let’s not worry about it too much,” Bin says after several minutes of quiet thinking. “I’m sure it’s just some fluke.”

Dongmin nods, pocketing his phone. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Just like they have for the last week, Dongmin and Bin skip out on school. Bin keeps his fingers locked between Dongmin’s, swinging their hands as they walk. They both decided that the possibility of someone else suddenly becoming aware of the time loop at school was so slim that it didn’t even matter. Instead, they’ve opted to explore the city. Even with the amazing sights, Bin can’t seem to get the photo out of his head.

“It’s just a fluke,” Dongmin is saying. “Just like you said earlier.”

Bin shakes his head as they walk down the stairs into the subway. “I really don’t think that’s it. If it was just one day that it stayed there, sure, that’s a fluke. But we took that photo _eleven_ days ago.”

Dongmin’s thumb runs over his finger as they wait at the edge of the tracks for their subway to arrive. The small movement is comforting to Bin. He glances at Dongmin to say something, but at the look of concentration on Dongmin’s face, he stops. Dongmin is thinking about it, too, then. He knows there’s something weird about it, too.

They’re bouncing slightly in their seats in the subway car when Dongmin finally breaks the silence between them. “What if it’s because we’re expecting the photo to be there?”

Bin glances at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the day after we watched the sunrise, I opened my photos to look for that photo of us because, um”—Dongmin drops his head, looking at their joined hands—”I wanted to set it as my phone background. I expected it to be there, and then it was.”

Bin smiles a little, then his brows pull together. “So what if we just expect everything to last?”

Dongmin nods. “That’s what I’m saying. It seems like it would work, doesn’t it?”

Bin presses his fingers against Dongmin’s. “What if we expected everything to be different tomorrow? Would we break the time loop? Could we break the time loop right now?”

Dongmin looks up at him. “Do we even want that anymore?”

Bin relaxes. Dongmin feels the same way he does. If the time loop suddenly does break, everything would change. Bin is certain their relationship would even change, despite what both of them have promised each other.

“Bin,” Dongmin whispers. “You’ve got that look on your face.”

Bin blinks, looking at Dongmin. “What look?”

“Like you think everything is over. It’s the same look you had in the library.”

Bin ducks his head. “Sorry. Just thinking.”

“You’re not thinking bad thoughts, are you?”

“Maybe a little,” Bin says with a shrug. “If the time loop breaks, I know everything will change. I mean, I know what we’ve said, but—”

“No buts,” Dongmin interjects. “I would still be your boyfriend, and I would deal with whatever anybody threw at us for that.”

Bin nods. He turns Dongmin’s hand over in his own, tracing the lines of his palm. “I know.”

“Good.”

They’re quiet for the rest of the subway ride. Bin and Dongmin get up two stops early, offering their seats to a couple of tourists. Up on the surface, Bin finds himself drawn towards an unmarked tattoo parlor and piercing shop. Dongmin almost seems to dig his heels into the sidewalk when Bin starts towards it.

“We should get tattoos,” Bin says as he looks over the array of designs. “Permanent proof of our theory that things last through days if we expect them to.”

“Or we could just draw on ourselves with pen,” Dongmin says.

Bin shakes his head. “Pen washes off. Tattoos don’t.”

“But tattoos means needles.”

Bin laughs. “You’re not scared of needles are you?” He pokes Dongmin in the side. “Worried about getting pricked?”

“I’m fine with just shots, but tattoos are a ton of needles digging into your skin over and over. Doesn’t that freak you out?”

Bin shakes his head. “Not the slightest. I already got a tattoo anyway, but it was gone at midnight. Same with the extra piercing I got.”

“You’re so dumb.”

“You’re the dumb one!”

Dongmin laughs at his sudden outburst, then pulls him out of the tattoo shop. “ _If_ I agreed to get a tattoo with you, I don’t even know what I would get.”

“We could get matching tattoos.”

“Of _what_ , though?”

Bin hums, swinging their hands as they walk. He snorts in amusement at a sudden thought. “Have you heard about the red thread of fate?”

Dongmin nods slowly. “Yeah. It’s an invisible thread tying people together, right?”

Bin nods. “Exactly. It can stretch and bend, but it’ll never break. We could get tiny red ring tattoos to represent the red thread of fate.”

“I never took you for the poetic type.”

Bin laughs. “Don’t you know I used to write poetry?”

Dongmin stops walking. “You’re joking.”

“Nope,” Bin says. “It’s the truth. I was thinking, and don’t you think that it has to be some sort of fate that we’re the two who ended up trapped together?”

Dongmin raises a brow. “Now you believe in fate?”

“I’ve always believed in fate,” Bin says. “If something is supposed to happen, it will, no matter what.” His mom believes in fate, too. That’s where Bin got it from.

Dongmin sighs. “So you just want to get small tattoos? Nothing big?”

Bin smiles widely. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes, that’s a yes.”

Bin slings his arm around Dongmin’s shoulders, tugging him against his side. If they somehow get out of this time loop, Bin thinks it’ll be okay. He thinks he’ll still have Dongmin to lean on (both figuratively and literally). He thinks that fate will keep them together. They’re supposed to be together, aren’t they?


	12. Day 413

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _Nothing comes even close to half of you_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eelfrHtmk68)

Dongmin grimaces, his free hand tightening around Bin’s. The artist doing their tattoos had been nice enough to let Bin sit in with them. Dongmin looks at Bin’s tattoo, already finished, a bright red line circling his pinky finger.

“It doesn’t hurt, right?” Dongmin asks. “I mean, like, I won’t pass out, will I?”

Dongmin looks at the woman sitting on the other side of him, which was a bad idea. She has the tattoo gun in her hand. Dongmin swallows. “Have you ever had anybody pass out before?”

“Once,” she says, bending over in her chair to fix a cord on the floor. “She was getting a tattoo of a bear on her calf because she lost a bet.”

Bin snorts, and Dongmin looks at him. “She lost a bet so she got a tattoo?”

Dongmin looks at the woman nod. “Yeah, stupidest tattoo I’ve ever given. She didn’t pass out until after it was done, though. Late reaction, I guess.”

Dongmin sighs and looks back at Bin. “Promise you won’t let me hit the floor if I faint.”

Bin smiles. “I promise.”

******

Dongmin blinks, staring up at the ceiling. He’s pretty sure his heart rate is back to normal, but he can’t get himself to look at the finished product.

“You’ve gotta look at it eventually, kid,” the woman says. “Let your boyfriend pay, and you can stay sitting right there until you get your wits about you.”

Bin kisses the knuckles of Dongmin’s non-tattooed hand. “I’ll be right back.”

Dongmin stays in the seat even once Bin has followed the tattooist out of the room. He closes his eyes before he picks up his hand, holding it in front of his face. If he just opens his eyes, he’ll see the tattoo. It’s fine. It hadn’t even hurt as bad as he thought it would, and he hasn’t fainted yet.

Dongmin stares at the tiny red line. Bin has that same tiny red line on his finger, too. They match. There’s something keeping them together, now, proudly saying _we’re matching._ Dongmin smiles a little. He likes that he’s matching with Bin. He likes that the world will easily be able to see that he and Bin are the same. Will the world be able to see them together as an act of fate, too? Hearing Bin talk about fate had made Dongmin believe it, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 day, 2 chapters!


	13. Day 421

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _If you are somewhere I cannot go, don’t forget_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcytstV1_XE)

Bin rolls over in his bed, looking at his hand to check that the red line around his pinky finger is still there. Some small part of him still expects the tiny tattoo to be gone, but it’s still there. Bin smiles at it. His thoughts are interrupted by quick knocking on his door.

“Bin, you better be awake! I’ll get Sua to throw water on you again!”

“I’m up!” Bin yells back at his mom. 

Bin tosses off his blankets and sits up. He and Dongmin had made plans for today to go to the aquarium, since Dongmin had never gone. Bin had been incredibly surprised to find out Dongmin had never been. It takes Bin too long to pick what to wear out of his limited wardrobe. He knows Dongmin will be waiting at the bus stop for him anyway, though, so he takes his time to make sure he looks good. It’s like a date. It _is_ a date.

There’s no Dongmin at the bus stop, much to Bin’s surprise. Dongmin, running late? That never happens. Bin sits himself on the bench and flips through the games on his phone, wasting time. Time wastes quickly, though, and pretty soon Bin realizes Dongmin isn’t going to show up. Maybe he got their plans confused? Yesterday, he _had_ thought they were going to the aquarium instead of to the school to check if anybody else had woken up from their state of unknowing. Bin boards the next bus and rides it to the school.

School is already in session, though, of course. A little scolding for being out of uniform won’t stop Bin, though. He parades proudly through the halls between classes switching. When he hears a teacher call his name from behind, Bin breaks into a run and disappears through the crowd of students.

Bin finds Dongmin at his locker. “Yo, Dongmin!”

Dongmin pulls his head out of his locker, looking at him. The confusion isn’t normal, and Bin feels his heart start to run a marathon.

“We were supposed to go to the aquarium today,” Bin says, looking Dongmin over. He’s even in full uniform, white button up tucked into his pants and his tie secured around his neck. “Remember?”

Dongmin blinks. “I’m sorry, we had plans? I don’t really know you.”

Bin stares at Dongmin for a moment. This is a joke, right? “Very funny, Dongmin,” Bin says, laughing a little. “You can cut out the joke now, though.”

Bin sets his hand on top of Dongmin’s on the locker door. Dongmin immediately snatches his hand away. Bin swallows. “Okay, you can cut it out now, seriously.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dongmin says.

Bin shakes his head. Has Dongmin been teaching himself method acting? “Are you feeling alright?”

Dongmin shuts the locker. “I’m feeling fine. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to class.”

Dongmin steps away from him, heading down the hall. Bin sighs. “Alright, very funny, Dongmin. Seriously, though, if you want to be able to see everything in the aquarium before it closes we need to head over there soon.”

Dongmin stops in the middle of the hall, staring him down. “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 _He isn’t acting._ Bin panics. “D-Dongmin, it’s me. Bin. Time loop, remember?”

Dongmin gives him a weird look. “Time loop? I’m not following, sorry. You’re going to make me late for class.”

Bin grabs Dongmin’s wrist and pulls his hand up to his face. Dongmin immediately starts to pull his arm away. Bin can feel the nervous sweat on his forehead and temples. He points at the red line tattoo around Dongmin’s pinky finger.

“We got tattoos, remember?” Bin asks, staring at Dongmin.

Dongmin looks at the tattoo. Seconds pass before Dongmin blinks finally, his body shifting positions slightly. “Oh. Right.”

Bin wraps his fingers around Dongmin’s. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Bin asks.

Dongmin opens his mouth, closes it, then nods. “Yeah. I’m fine. I just… I forgot for a second. I don’t know why.”

Bin swallows. _I can’t lose you._ “I thought you had left me for a minute there. I thought I was alone.”

Dongmin shakes his head. “No, I’m fine. I didn’t sleep well. I’m sure that’s it.”

Bin nods slowly. “Right. Maybe next time you shouldn’t stay up all night.”

“I wasn’t—” Dongmin bites his bottom lip. “You’re right.”

Bin smiles a little when he feels Dongmin’s fingers squeeze his own. “Do you still want to go to the aquarium?”

Dongmin blinks, fingers slackening slightly. “Aquarium?”

The panic wells up in Bin’s chest again. “Yes, the aquarium. We made plans to go, remember?”

“I—Sorry, Binnie. I don’t—” Dongmin sucks in a deep breath, eyes going wide. “I can’t remember.”

Bin swallows. “I’m sure it’s fine. Just, it’s probably from living the same day for too many days in a row, right? It’s been 421 days.” He grins. “Or maybe your brain just can’t function right unless you’re with me.”

Dongmin huffs, shoving Bin’s shoulder lightly, that familiar smile spreading across his lips. “Shut up, idiot.”

The tension bleeds out of Bin just like that, floating away into nothing. “We have to leave now if we want to get through the whole aquarium before closing. Come on.”

Bin tugs Dongmin away from the school, and Dongmin falls into step beside him. Even though they walk together, though, Bin can feel that Dongmin’s thoughts are elsewhere. What had just happened? Why hadn’t Dongmin remembered him?

The somber mood between them stretches through the bus ride to Dongmin’s home so he can change clothes, and the entire way to the aquarium. Only when Bin splashes some of the water out of the touch tank onto Dongmin’s jeans does the mood lighten.

“Hey!” Dongmin shouts, garnering the attention of several other patrons. “Idiot, why did you do that?”

Bin laughs. “I don’t know. I just felt like it.”

Dongmin dips his fingers into the tank, flicking the water at Bin. Bin shouts, picking up his arms too late to fend off the water droplets. He wraps his arms around Dongmin’s waist, pulling him close.

“You’ve gotta make it up to me for doing that,” Bin says, his face only a few inches away from Dongmin’s. He doesn’t care that people are staring.

“ _I_ have to make up for it?” Dongmin scoffs. “You did it first!”

Bin shakes his head. “Nope, you have to make up for it.” He puckers his lips, tapping them. “Kiss me.”

Dongmin’s blush spreads all the way to his ears. “ _Here_?”

Bin smirks. “Yeah, here.”

Before Dongmin can make up his mind, though, Bin kisses him. Dongmin hums softly in surprise before kissing him back, both arms wrapping securely around Bin’s shoulders. Bin can’t help the smile that comes to his lips when he hears several gasps.

“Okay,” he says, pulling away from Dongmin. “I think we’ve given these people enough of a show.”

Bin fits his fingers between Dongmin’s and turns. “Resume your fish viewing!” Bin says. He bows dramatically before yanking Dongmin away from the area, running to a different section of the aquarium.

Dongmin laughs while they run, stumbling a few steps behind Bin. He’s the one who stops Bin, though, pointing at something in one of the tanks. Bin hugs Dongmin from behind, peeking over his shoulder to look at the jellyfish.

“They’re cool, right?” Dongmin says. His hands hold onto Bin’s arms at his chest.

Bin nods. “Yeah, super cool. Jellyfish can glow in the dark, can’t they?”

“Yeah, some of them can.”

Bin sways gently. When Dongmin walks slowly to the next tank, Bin keeps hold of him from behind. This tank is much larger and has schools of tiny fish. Bin isn’t focused on the fish, though. He watches Dongmin from the corner of his eye, wondering why Dongmin had completely forgotten him earlier. Dongmin had recoiled from his touch as if they’d never hugged or held hands or _kissed._ Bin doesn’t get to linger on his thoughts for long, though. Dongmin pulls him away to another tank and starts talking animatedly about something he read about aquariums once. Bin pushes away his _what ifs_ and pessimistic thoughts. Surely it’ll be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh I forgot to upload yesterday!!!! I had this all written and ready to post and it completely slipped my mind lmao oops. I’m also posting this from my phone so I’m sorry for any formatting errors;;
> 
> This is the last chapter I’ll be posting for a while, because this is the last chapter of Part 1! Part 2 will start December 26, so look out for it then~
> 
> Until then, leave me comments! Why do you think Dongmin is suddenly forgetting, hmm? Come hang out on my blog @snibnoom, too, and talk to me about this fic (or any of my others)!
> 
> Have a wonderful Christmas!!!


	14. [PART 2] Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _'til you come back, everyday is yesterday_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zU4Mj9dpUI)

_“...over a year in a coma, but…”_

_“...at the same time. Personally, I don’t believe in coincidences, but…”_

_“...fast recovery based on the activity of his brain in the past year…”_

_“...chart shows a spike around the one year mark, indicating more brain activity…”_

_“...real shame. He was so handsome…”_

Bin can’t seem to latch onto any of the words for longer than a few seconds, drifting in and out of sleep. He must’ve really overslept. His mom is probably watching one of those medical dramas on TV. Bin is rarely home when his mom gets off work, so that explains why he doesn’t remember this part of his day. He isn’t really sure what time it is. He doesn’t get to think much about that before he’s pulled back to sleep.

_“...visitors for the first day…”_

_“...takes anywhere from six to eight weeks, but with his current condition…”_

_“...rehabilitation as soon as he can sit up…”_

Bin blinks at the ceiling, noticing how it’s segmented into parts like the ceiling at his school. He furrows his brows slightly. Had his parents moved him while he slept in? Bin rolls his head sideways. This isn’t his bedroom. Is this a hospital room? The TV in the corner of the room and the photo of his family on the table beside the bed suggest that it is. Bin struggles to call out for help. He’s so tired. Against his will, he falls asleep again.

_“...with that nurse checking up on him…”_

_“...taken seriously. His condition is serious…”_

_“...temporary, hopefully. We aren’t sure…”_

Bin yawns when he wakes up again. His mouth feels like the desert. Set on the table beside his bed is a glass of water. As he reaches for it, his arm moves slowly, as if he’s living in the slow motion part of The Matrix. His hand closes around the glass, but as soon as it’s off the edge of the table, it slips between his fingers and crashes to the floor.

The door to his room opens almost immediately. Several women in scrubs rush in, quiet, not paying attention to him as they clean up the mess. It takes several minutes, but one of the women finally holds a straw to his lips. Bin struggles to sip from it.

“You’re going to be just fine,” she says as she pulls the straw away. “I promise, you’ll be just fine.”

Bin’s head is foggy. However, there’s one thought screaming at him from the depths of his mind.

_Where’s Dongmin?_

Bin can’t get his mouth to work. He opens and closes it several times, unable to make any noise. There’s panic rising in his chest. He knows it, too, because of the way the heart monitor in the room speeds up in pace. Bin tilts his chin into his chest and raises his hands. Neither one of them feature a red line around his pinky finger.

“Bin, are you alright?”

Bin looks at the nurse, who is clearly concerned. The panic is squeezing his chest and throat.

_Where’s Dongmin?_

Had he imagined the whole thing? Surely he hadn’t. Surely Dongmin is out there in the hospital somewhere, as confused as he is. What had they done wrong? What had they done to make the hospital take them in and separate them?

“Bin, focus on my voice.” Bin looks at the nurse hovering over him. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Shh,” another nurse hisses. She has her back turned to them, but she swivels around momentarily to look at them. The heart monitor beats steadily faster. “The doctor said not to tell him anything. Either he’ll remember, or his family will tell him. Or the doctor will if his family doesn’t show up.”

_Where’s Dongmin?_

“It feels wrong to leave him clueless.”

_Where’s Dongmin?_

“He won’t remember that he’s clueless in just a moment. Can you come help me?”

_Where’s Dongmin?_

Bin shakes his head when the nurse walks closer, needle in hand. He tries to move, tries to take the IV out of his arm. The other nurse is there to hold his hand away, though, and he can’t move against her. She has a grip like a superhero, his arm entirely immobile in her grasp. Bin watches the other nurse squeeze the contents of the needle into his IV bag. The heart monitor is frantic. His heart isn’t beating like that, is it?

The nurse lets go of his hand. Bin tries for the IV again, but his arm falls slack. He breathes out heavily, thinking, _take it out of me. Take it out of my arm. Where’s Dongmin?_

“Family is allowed in tomorrow, aren’t they?”

_I have to find Dongmin._

“Yes, they should be. Hopefully he’ll be stable enough that they won’t simply sit in the room while he floats in and out of consciousness.”

_I need to find Dongmin. I need to get Dongmin out of here._

“We can only hope. The doctor said his recovery should be quick. Did you see his charts? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

_Where’s Dongmin?_

“I bet doctors from all over the place are going to want to see what’s making that brain of his tick like it is. We don’t even see activity like that in some people that are awake.”

_Where’s Dongmin?_

Bin’s eyelids are heavy. He swallows thickly, listening to the heart monitor slow.

“That other boy, too, his charts were just as odd. It’s a shame what happened, though.”

_Where’s Dongmin?_

“I know. Hopefully it’ll only be temporary, though.”

_Where’s Dongmin?_

Bin watches the nurses leave. He forces his eyes open every few seconds. He knows he can’t resist it. He knows he’s going to be pulled under.

_Where’s Dongmin?_

Bin twists as much as he can, trying to look at the room. He hadn’t heard the door lock. He also hadn’t seen the nurses turn off his lights.

_Where’s Dongmin?_

Bin rubs his thumb against his index finger, willing himself to stay awake though his eyes are closed. He can’t give in. He has to find Dongmin. Where is he? Where are they keeping him?

_Where’s Dongmin?_

_Where’s Dongmin?_

_Dongmin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, the _real_ fun starts!
> 
> I also wanted to ask you guys, which fics from this year are your favorite? Please click [here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB-iaaAQJSHAteM2wEwpGG58b7Gr5bXi31ZZUKN49Ujnbddg/viewform) to take a quick poll. I would really, really appreciate it!


	15. Day 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _After waking up from the dream that was you, this morning of reality feels so empty_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEqlF5N8UMs)

Bin stares at the wall across from his hospital bed. He’s managed to stay awake for the longest time ever today, going on five straight hours. He hates how much he sleeps, but the doctor said it’s normal for him to sleep a lot when he’s first out of his coma. His _coma_. He hasn’t even seen his own face in a mirror. When he’d managed to stay awake longer than half an hour, Bin had realized that he had stubble on his cheeks and chin, and his hair was significantly longer than it had been before. Now, though, his hair is back to a length he’s used to and his skin is smooth. He has his family to thank for that.

“Mom and Dad left your room almost completely untouched,” Sua, Bin’s younger sister, says. “ It got dusty a lot. Usually Mom dusted it, but they made me do it sometimes, too.”

Bin looks lazily at his sister. In the 423 days he’d been in a coma, she’s changed a lot. Her hair is longer, and dyed. Yesterday, she had shown him the dance routine she’d learned with a few other girls. Apparently she had been accepted into an agency, finally, after all these years. Sua had stopped talking about it when their mom walked in, though. Bin isn’t sure if that means that she hasn’t told them, or if his mom is still upset that he wasn’t able to follow the same path after all.

Bin’s concentration is wavering, though, even though Sua is still talking. He has trouble staying concentrated on much of anything these days, and he always feels tired. It’s frustrating. Sua’s words fade out of focus.

“Sorry.” Bin glances at Sua.

Sua shakes her head. “Don’t apologize. I get it.”

Bin’s mom puts a hand on his leg, over the hospital blanket. “Do you need anything, sweetheart?”

_Dongmin._

It’s a gut reaction. Bin’s chest clenches painfully. His heart is searching for something, like a part of it got torn out of his chest. He shakes his head instead. “No, just, um. Can you tell me about the accident?”

Bin hates the darkness that crosses over his mom’s face, but he needs to know. Nobody has told him about the accident. He only knows that there was an accident and that it landed him in a coma.

“Are you sure you—”

“Yes.”

Bin’s mom nods, perching on the edge of the bed. “Alright. Um. It was Monday, after you left school. Your friend, Minhyuk, told us that you never showed up for dance practice.” She swallows.

Bin can only vaguely remember skipping dance practice. He’d gotten a call from Jinwoo, hadn’t he?

“The authorities aren’t sure how it happened yet, either, but the man who was driving the bus you got onto wasn’t a bus driver.” His mother pauses, grabbing a handful of the blanket beneath her. “Other people who were on the bus said they didn’t pay attention to him much. Bus drivers change, and he was in the proper uniform.”

“What happened to the actual bus driver?” Bin asks.

“They found him dead,” his father says from a chair in the corner of the room. “Throat slashed in his own apartment. The only thing missing, as far as the cops could tell, was his uniform.”

Bin swallows. Had anybody else been hurt? Had Dongmin been hurt? Is that why the nurse had looked at him so sadly yesterday when he had asked about him?

“When he didn’t show up for work,” his father continues, “the bus company assigned someone else to his route. They found _that_ man tied and gagged in a car in a parking lot half a mile from the bus barn.”

Bin’s mom stands suddenly, walking quickly to the door with a hand over her mouth. They watch her leave, and then Bin’s father sighs.

“Sua, fill in your brother.”

Bin sits in silence with his sister until their father has left, shutting the door softly behind him.

“The cops say that the same man did all of those things,” Sua says almost immediately after the room is quiet again. She leans forward, arms resting on the edge of the bed. “They only have some low quality photos of him, and there wasn’t any evidence at any of the scenes. Not even any fingerprints or pieces of hair in the bus.”

Bin nods, brows drawn together. “But _why_?” He feels tired, and he can’t seem to get past that. No ideas of _why_ someone would do this come to him. The only thoughts that do seem to come to him are of Dongmin.

Sua shrugs. “Cops have no idea. They were hoping you or the other guy would have some sort of answers, because you’re the only two they haven’t been able to interview yet, on account of the simultaneous comas.”

The door opens back up. Bin’s mom’s eyes are red around the edges, and his father has his arm around her shoulders. Bin doesn’t need to ask if she’s okay. He knows she is. That, and the look his father gives him tells him not to ask.

“Anyway,” Sua says, “this guy posing as a bus driver locked the bus in at a speed, secured the steering wheel, then jumped out of it while it was still moving. The bus crashed into a shop. Nobody was hurt, not real bad, but you and the other guy are the only two that ended up in a coma.”

Relief floods over Bin at knowing that nobody was hurt. That means Dongmin is okay, right? _Dongmin has to be okay._

“Was it.. The other guy, is it.. Is it Dongmin?”

Sua raises a brow. “How did you know it was Dongmin?”

“He probably heard the nurses talking,” his father says. “A boy that looks like that? The nurses probably all wanted to be the one taking care of him.”

Bin smiles when his mom hits his father’s chest, causing laughter from all of them. He yawns, letting out a loud noise unintentionally, and his mom sniffs.

“We’ll let you get some rest,” she says. “Sua, come on.”

Bin nods, and Sua pats his shoulder once before following their parents out of the room. Bin leans his head back on the hard pillows, staring at the ceiling. It doesn’t take long for him to fall asleep despite the constant _why_ sounding in his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! I almost didn't think I was going to get this out. It took _way_ longer than I planned, sorry about that!
> 
> I'm going to be changing this account from snibnoom under astrofantastic to just snibnoom relatively soon, so I'm sorry if you end up having trouble finding this when I post the next chapter!
> 
> Also! I still have my poll open for today, so let me know [which of my fics from 2017 is your favorite](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB-iaaAQJSHAteM2wEwpGG58b7Gr5bXi31ZZUKN49Ujnbddg/viewform) and be sure to leave a comment here! I love reading comments~


	16. Day 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _In one year, one month, one day, one minute, one second, everything changes_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw0S3mV850o)

Bin watches every reflective surface they pass, hoping to get a clear look at himself. He still hasn’t seen himself in a mirror in nine days. It’s been over 430 days since he last saw his face not in a time loop.

He sits in his wheelchair, turning his attention to the conversation happening behind him between his parents and his doctor.

“His recovery rate already is outstanding. I’ve never seen anything like it before. You can bring him back tomorrow for speech therapy, but we should wait awhile before we start physical therapy. The mind is the most important part.”

“What about at home? Is there anything you recommend for accommodating him?”

“Don’t make any special changes. He’ll just need time to adjust. He might act out, speak rudely. That’s all perfectly normal. Understand that he’s been disconnected from the world for over a year.”

“What if he asks about his friends? A lot of them want to see him.”

“Let him see them, but in a controlled environment. Exposure to too many new experiences at once may trigger a negative set back. And as for school, you should keep him out for the time being, perhaps not until fall next year.”

“Well, that’s almost eight months away. What do you think we should do in the meantime?”

“Casual studies. Don’t force him, but you’re free to bring the idea up to him. I recommend…”

Bin leans his head back, staring up at the ceiling. He follows the lines holding the tiles until his eyes are looking so far behind him that it hurts. _What about Dongmin? How is he recovering?_

Bin picks his head up when he feels Sua’s hand on his shoulder. He can’t even get a clear look at himself in the walls of the elevators. Finally, Bin just gives up. He stares at the headrest in front of him the entire way home, and he doesn’t bother trying to stretch to see himself in the glass plate in their front door.

His family leaves him in his bedroom. Sua hadn’t been kidding. It’s exactly like he saw it for the 422 days he was stuck in the time loop. However, there’s something weird about being in his room and knowing that those 422 days were just in his head. He wasn’t actually living any of that. How had it felt so _real_ if it was just in his head? Had Dongmin felt the same way?

Bin frowns at the mirror on top of his dresser. It’s taunting him, reflecting everything in the room except for him. He won’t have this anymore. Bin grabs the wheels of the chair and forces them forward across the carpet, clenching his jaw with the effort. He doesn’t stop until one wheel bumps into his dresser. When had his dresser gotten so tall? Bin doesn’t trust his weak legs to hold him up. Instead, Bin grabs the edges of his dresser and shakes it. His mirror on top wobbles, and he shakes the dresser harder. It bangs against the wall, and at the same time his mirror tilts forward. Bin has enough forethought to raise his arms over his face before his mirror shatters.

He only looks at the shards for a short moment. The closest one is right at his feet, and it’s quite large. He picks it up gently, swallowing at the picture he sees of himself. He definitely looks older, and he looks weak. His cheeks are slightly sunken in as if he hasn’t eaten right his entire life. There are heavy bags under his eyes as if he’s suffering from a weird disease that doesn’t let him sleep. His thin lips are chapped, and he licks them. His hair is cut, but unevenly and in an odd style. His nose is too big for his face. His jaw is too strong.

His bedroom door opens, swinging open with so much force that it slams against the frame. Bin looks at his mom standing there, his dad and sister peeking over her shoulders from behind. They guard their expressions too late. Bin saw it all. He saw every detail of their expressions in just that split, unguarded second.

He might be Bin, but they hardly recognize him. Bin realizes that he’s a stranger to them, just as much as they’re strangers to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hand slipped?
> 
> Leave me comments! I love reading comments, and I respond to as many as I can! Even if I don't respond, I definitely read your comment~
> 
> Also! Hit me up on [tumblr](https://snibnoom.tumblr.com/ask/) and talk to me!


	17. Day 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _I just didn’t wanna believe that you changed_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3GZkxoZeU)

Bin doesn’t bother looking into the rooms they pass. The glass panels set in the doors are too high for him to see through, and so are the windows. He lets his mom push him this time. He’s tired. While he’d been sleeping normally before, last night had changed. Bin had spent most of the night lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. Everything in his room bothers him now. The cream colored walls and all the posters tacked on them bother him. The muddy looking carpet and the pile of books beside his door bothers him. Even his ceiling fan bothers him. Bin rubs his eyes. Maybe he can get some sleep here.

The doctor takes a few minutes to show up in the room. Bin’s therapist doesn’t dress like the other doctors. He wears slacks and a button up shirt, but no long white coat. Bin’s mom pats his shoulder before she leaves. As his doctor rummages around in a drawer in his desk, Bin balances his chin in his palm.

“You’ll have to excuse me,” his therapist says. “I left your file in my office.”

Bin watches his doctor leave, the door staying open. Several people pass by. It’s hard to ignore the rise of hope in his chest. _Any one of them could be Dongmin._

_Is he wondering where I am, too?_

_Is he worrying about me, too?_

“Found it!”

Bin wishes his doctor had lost his file permanently and he could stop sitting here and talking about his dreams and thoughts when Dongmin is out there without him. He can’t go looking for Dongmin, though. Not now, at least.

“How is that cut on your hand healing?” his doctor asks as he flips open Bin’s file.

Bin looks down at the bandage around his hand. He hadn’t meant to cut himself with the broken mirror. It had just sort of happened. He shrugs. “It doesn’t…”

Bin frowns as words fail him. “There’s, um, no pain.” His speech therapist had told him that it’s okay to use other words if he forgets one.

“It doesn’t hurt?”

Bin makes sure he won’t forget that word again by repeating it a few times in his head.

“How did you sleep last night?”

Bin picks at the edge of the bandage on his hand. It’s starting to fray because he messes with it so much. “I didn’t.”

“You didn’t sleep? Why not?”

“My room bothers me.”

Bin inspects his hands and goes through the remainder of questions his therapist has. They’re all the same as the last time. How is he handling adjustments? Is there anything he doesn’t like? Does he remember any more of the accident? How is he getting along with his friends? Is there anything he needs to talk about? How is he _feeling_?

“Alright, Bin,” his doctor says eventually. “I’ll be right back with a prescription for some medication that should help you sleep easier. If it doesn’t, let me know.”

Bin watches his doctor leave, the door wide open this time. His mom had pushed him around earlier, so his arms have plenty enough energy. He pushes himself out into the hall, peeking down to his therapist’s office. The door is almost entirely shut.

_If I’m on this floor, and Dongmin was in a coma, too, then he has to be on this floor, too, doesn’t he? Maybe he’s in for a meeting with a doctor, too. I’m sure I could find him._

Bin nods at the few nurses he passes. It’s a struggle to see into the rooms. He checks that the hall is empty every time before he hoists himself out of the wheelchair. His legs are only strong enough to hold him for a few seconds, but it’s long enough to see into the rooms. The first three he checks aren’t hiding Dongmin.

At the other end of the hall is the elevator. Bin watches a nurse push a wheelchair into it. A hand wraps around his heart, squeezing it. _Dongmin?_

He’s thinner, and his hair is longer, and he’s wearing thick-rimmed glasses. Bin would recognize him anywhere, though. He knows what Dongmin looks like. He would always know what Dongmin looks like.

Time is moving too quickly. Bin pushes himself down the hall as quickly as he can, but the nurse has already pressed the button inside the elevator.

“Dongmin!” Bin yells, or tries to. It comes out as a mere whisper. He curses under his breath, pushing his chair faster. Why are his arms so tired now?

“Dongmin,” Bin says, his voice louder. “Dongmin. Dongmin!”

He looks up from his lap as he sits in his wheelchair in the elevator. Bin stops pushing his way down the hall, breathing heavily. Dongmin is looking at him. He sees him. He has to. Right?

Bin raises his hand, waving.

But the elevator doors close, and the entire time, Dongmin stares back at him with a question in his eyes.

_Who are you?_

Bin doesn’t move. Why hadn’t Dongmin waved back? Why hadn’t he stopped the elevator, told the nurse to push him down the hall? Why had he looked at Bin like he didn’t recognize him? Why hadn’t he been pushing himself? Had he been hurt? He had still been in scrubs. Had he not gone home yet? Why would the doctors keep him at the hospital unless he was hurt?

There isn’t enough air in Bin’s lungs. The hall seems impossibly long, stretching on for miles and miles. He’s pretty sure he’s going to be sick. _Why hadn’t Dongmin recognized me?_ Is he spinning? Bin feels like he’s spinning. His heart has replaced his throat, making it hard to swallow. Bin grips the arms of his wheelchair. _Why hadn’t he recognized me?_ Dongmin should’ve recognized him. Why hadn’t he?

Bin bites back the panic threatening to make his breakfast come back up. He digs his nails into his palm. _It’s a joke. Or maybe his glasses are the wrong prescription? Yeah, maybe he just didn’t recognize me from so far away. I wouldn’t recognize myself, either._

“Bin?”

He turns his head sharply, looking at his therapist a few yards away.

“Bin, what are you doing out here in the hall?”

He’s pretty sure he feels blood in his palm.

“Did you forget I’m getting you a prescription? Come back into my office.”

Bin swallows. He pushes himself back into his therapist’s room, avoiding eye contact.

“Here. One pill before you go to bed, and you should sleep straight through the night.”

Bin nods, taking the piece of paper. “Right. Thank you. My mom, um, she— she called. Said to meet her downstairs.”

“Let me send a nurse with you.”

“No,” Bin says, and he realizes that he said it too fast. “I mean, you don’t have to.”

His therapist nods. “Right. Well, if that’s all—”

“Thank you,” Bin whispers. 

He pushes himself out of the room and down the hall. Maybe if he’s quick enough, smart enough, he can catch up with Dongmin. He can see if Dongmin really knows who he is.

“Please be okay,” Bin whispers to himself as he waits for the elevator. “Please be okay. Please.”

Bin moves his wheelchair backwards when the elevator dings. He has to find Dongmin. Maybe they went to get food? It _is_ lunchtime, after all. The cafeteria is on the second floor, right?

“—after you eat. I’m sure you’ll get through it fine.”

“Right. Thank you.”

Bin’s heart takes the place of his throat again, and he’s digging his fingers into his palm. “Dongmin?”

Dongmin looks up at him from the plate of food balanced on his lap. The nurse pushes him out into the hall. Bin has always wondered if he would experience things in slow motion. He guesses he has now, watching every little movement Dongmin makes as if it’s happening in slow time. He recognizes all the little movements, too, even the way Dongmin pushes his glasses up and brushes his bangs off his forehead.

“Sorry,” Dongmin says, his voice as smooth as Bin remembers. 

He knows there's something hiding behind that smoothness, though. Something that's going to chip away at whatever is left of his heart. A few words that are going to twist the dagger that's already been plunged into his heart. Bin swallows around the lump in his throat.

“Do I know you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> R.I.P. Bin. Cause of death: Dongmin not remembering him.
> 
> Leave me comments! After this chapter, I won't even be mad if you yell at me in the comments. I sorta want to yell at myself, but also... Heheh. I know how this ends. But yeah! I love reading comments, and I respond to as many as I can. Even if I don't respond, I definitely read your comment! So... Why do you think Dongmin doesn't remember Bin?
> 
> P.S. Did you know that [astrofanficawards](https://astrofanficawards.tumblr.com/post/169389138029/affa-voting-is-now-open) on tumblr is holding a thing to find out what fics aroha like best? I'm nominated with _Wings 'n' Things_ for Best Overall and also for the Author Achievement. You should check it out, and vote for your favorites!


	18. Day 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _My heart won’t change_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj-tdx3d_CI)

“He barely eats, barely drinks. It’s like he’s deteriorating. He won’t tell anybody what’s wrong.”  
“I understand, Mrs. Moon. It’s a hard situation for—”  
“He won’t talk to me, to his father. He talks to Sua, but not about himself. He just asks about her life. I don’t want him to draw into himself and get stuck in this loop of—”  
“Yes, Mrs. Moon, I know. He has people who love him surrounding him, though, so you don’t need to worry.”  
“But what if he never gets better? What if he isn’t the son that I had before?”  
Bin leans his head back until he can’t go any further, eyes stuck to the paneled ceiling. Despite his mom telling him to wait in the hall, he can hear everything she and his doctor are talking about. His mom has always been on the loud side.  
“Is he sleeping?”  
“That’s all he does.”  
“I’ll change his prescription. Sometimes I miscalculate dosages, which can make side effects have a larger effect than they should.”  
“Will changing it make him eat?”  
“I can’t say it’ll _make_ him eat, but it should definitely help in giving him an appetite.”  
Bin’s mom says something quietly, and Bin furrows his brows. He wants to hear what they have to say. He wants to know what they’re saying about him. She’s probably telling the doctor that he’s apparently been whispering in his sleep, something he never used to do before the coma. Bin sighs, pulling his head up. Spots dance in his vision.  
He could just leave. Bin could push himself down the hall to the elevator and leave the hospital. Or he could go find Dongmin and try to do something to trigger Dongmin’s memory. Bin frowns, staring at his hands. _Did Dongmin only forget me?_ Bin had thought for sure that Dongmin had been real, but the longer he goes without knowing definitively, the more he doubts himself.  
The door to Bin’s left swings open suddenly, making Bin jump. He looks up at his doctor, and at his mom peeking out from behind him.  
“You want to come in here, Bin?”  
Bin nods. His mom takes his wheelchair from behind, pushing him into the small office. The doctor scoots a chair out of the way before shutting the door. Today was just supposed to be a regular meeting with his physical therapist, but his mom had decided to ask his doctor all of these questions. Bin holds back a sigh when he sees the two prescription papers on the desk in front of him.  
“To aid your recovery and rehabilitation,” the doctor says, “we thought it best to hold joint therapy sessions for you and Lee Dongmin once every two weeks.”  
“Excuse me?” Bin’s mom asks.  
“Your son and Dongmin were both in a coma for the exact same amount of time,” he says. “We’re still trying to understand how that happened. That’s not why we want to hold the joint therapy sessions, though. Bin and Dongmin were both in a coma for a long time, and both attend the same school. They likely both had similar experiences, since it was the same crash that put them in their comas.”  
“I don’t understand what sort of benefit this would have.”  
Bin glances between his mom and his doctor.  
“We’re hoping that it would benefit Dongmin the most. When he woke up, we realized that he’d suffered massive memory loss.” The doctor grabs a clipboard and a pen. “We’re hoping that talking with Bin, who is in a very similar situation as him, could help his recovery run faster, and possibly trigger some sort of memory. It’s not unusual for victims of memory loss to regain at least part of their memories.”  
Bin holds up a hand. “Wait, what?”  
The doctor smiles a little, but it’s a sad smile. “Dongmin suffered from complete memory loss when he woke up, unlike you, who only forgot small details about your life before the coma.”  
“I’m not sure how that would benefit Bin,” his mom says. “It might be a bit counter productive, even, wouldn’t it? Bin should be focusing on himself instead of—”  
“I’ll do it,” Bin says.   
If Dongmin had lost all of his memories, then it wasn’t that he’d only forgotten Bin. Everything Bin had experienced had to have been real. Dongmin was really stuck in a time loop with him. Dongmin had felt all the same things he had. Bin is sure of it. He’s sure that, stuck somewhere in a repressed, blocked part of his brain, Dongmin _knows_ what they went through. Bin just needs to find a way to get through to him. He has to get through to him.


	19. Day 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _My world still hasn't changed_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zU4Mj9dpUI)

The words slam into Bin’s chest so fast and hard that he’s certain the force of it would’ve knocked him over if he hadn’t already been lying down. He gasps quietly, the sound interrupting the ticking of his newly installed wall clock and the bugs buzzing around outside his window. It’s hard, listening to that quiet gasp. The words aren’t a surprise. In fact, Bin is only surprised that he hadn’t thought them sooner, said them sooner. He doesn’t even dare whisper them now into the room that’s empty aside from himself.  
Bin tunes out the noise of his dad shuffling down the hall, likely to make himself coffee to start the day. Instead, Bin focuses on himself, on the weight on his chest from an invisible, immovable object, on the way it shifts with him when he rolls onto his side.  
He stares at the window, but not through it. He looks at the white frame, the paint chipped from the corners. He imagines a pretty boy with dark hair and swollen eyes knocking quickly on the window from outside. He imagines sliding the window open just to have that same pretty boy yank him halfway to his death.  
Bin smiles at the memory. Less than a week ago he would’ve scowled at such a happy memory, stolen away from him without reason. He wonders how many sunrises they could’ve watched together. He wonders if they’ll get to watch sunrises together again, or if they’ll get to dye their hair again.  
For days, now, Bin has pondered every single route of action he could take when he sees _him_ again. He realizes that it doesn’t really matter what he thinks will happen, because _he_ is unpredictable. He’s wild, and he makes Bin’s heart slam against his ribs like a trapped prisoner begging to be heard. He’s beautiful, and he’s humble. He’s the only thing Bin has been able to think about for almost a month. Nothing else has seemed to matter.  
Bin’s smile falls off his lips, replaced with a shallow frown. It’s not fair. If that should’ve happened to someone, it should’ve happened to Bin. _He_ had such a bright, promising future, all planned out for him for years in advance. Bin, on the other hand, hadn’t even been sure about what would happen in the next month. A year spent away, 60 days exactly spent wasting time when they should’ve been entirely focused on finding a way out. If they had gotten out sooner, would _his_ memories have been intact? Was this all Bin’s fault for distracting _him_?  
Bin pulls his body upright, wincing at the pain in his lower back. Maybe this is all just fate. Bin laughs softly, but the feeling is all wrong. He flops backwards, wincing again because of the sudden movement. It shouldn’t be like this.  
 _Maybe it doesn’t have to be like this._  
Bin blinks at the quiet voice in his head. It’s _his_ voice, smooth and deep.  
 _It isn’t your fault._  
Bin swallows. “But what if it is?”  
 _Cut that out. This isn’t your fault._  
“How can you know that?”  
 _I’m smarter than you._  
Bin scoffs.  
 _I’m the one who figured out that things stay if we expect them to._  
Bin nods. “Yeah. You’re—”  
Bin sits up sharply, gasping aloud at the pain the movement causes. The pain only lasts a moment, though, his mind focused elsewhere. “If I expect you to remember, will you?”  
 _I don’t know. No reason not to experiment, though._  
Bin leans over, moving his wheelchair. He slides into it with some difficulty, sighing heavily once he’s seated. “Do you think it’ll work?”  
 _It’s worked before. It might work again._  
Bin nods. _He_ really is the smart one. Bin rolls himself to his window, setting his hands against the window sill. The words are still heavy on his chest, however. Three simple words, words he’s never uttered before to _him_. Bin regrets it. He regrets never saying it. He had so many chances, yet he never did.  
“Dongmin,” Bin breathes. “I love you.”  
The quiet, deep-toned voice in his head stays quiet.  
“Dongmin, please,” Bin whispers. “Please.”  
The voice still stays quiet.  
“Please,” Bin sobs. He gasps, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing a hand against his chest as the weight returns.  
“Dongmin, please. I—”  
Bin chokes, slamming his mouth shut to block the sobs threatening to spill out of him. He knows that if they leave him, they’ll never stop. They’ll keep coming, and even then Dongmin won’t come back. Dongmin won’t ever be able to come back, no matter what Bin says or thinks or pretends. This is it. This is his reality.  
“No,” Bin breathes, pitching forward. He grabs the window sill, fighting against the weight on his chest. He squeezes his eyes closed, fingers digging into the soft wood of the window sill.  
“Dongmin,” Bin says. He looks out into his front yard. “I love you.”  
Despite the weight pressing down uncomfortably on Bin’s chest, he knows that somewhere, somehow, Dongmin is saying the same thing.


	20. Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _We’re walking to a place that we can never return from_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCmMbil5wCY)

Dongmin lets his mom push his wheelchair into the elevator. He’s let his mom take care of him a lot, actually. It’s hard not to notice the way she looks at him, like everything has been lost. Dongmin can’t really relate, as he’s not entirely sure what he’s lost. There’s the feeling of things being different, of course. He still hasn’t gone home from the hospital, but his parents visit every day. He knows they’re his parents, but he doesn’t _know_ them. Dongmin would be lying if he said he wanted to go home. Aside from the slightly uncomfortable hospital bed, the hospital isn’t really that bad.  
The nurses have been nice to him, and he knows why. He can hear them whispering they think he can’t hear. There’s one male nurse who visits him every night, administering a shot. Dongmin doesn’t bother asking what it is, because these nurses know what they’re doing. Instead, Dongmin does like his doctors recommend; he focuses on recovery.  
It’s been a month since Dongmin woke up. Over the course of that month, Dongmin has attended physical therapy twice a week for three weeks, and speech therapy once a week. He talks to his therapist whenever he feels like it, really, though their meetings are scheduled for every Tuesday. Today, Monday, he had his second “group” therapy with a different doctor and Moon Bin.  
Dongmin can’t wrap his head around Bin. The younger boy acts awfully friendly. Dongmin knows they went to school together (only because he had been told), but many of the things Bin had done in both of their meetings hinted that there was something else going on between him. If there had been, then why hadn’t he just come out and said it?  
“I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetie,” Dongmin’s mom says, patting his shoulder.  
Dongmin pulls himself out of his thoughts, smiling up at her. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”  
With his mom gone, he’s alone again in his hospital room. Dongmin doesn’t really mind being alone. It gives him time to think and to meditate. An article online had said meditation could help reverse memory loss. For an hour every day, Dongmin has been doing exactly that. With some help from the rails on his bed, Dongmin settles onto the hospital bed. As he closes his eyes to focus on his breathing, a knock comes at his door.  
Dongmin sighs. “Come in!”  
Bin’s head pops into the room. “Sorry, am I bothering you?”  
Despite knowing next to nothing about Bin, and despite their odd encounters so far (Bin had asked him if he liked watching sunrises when they finished their first “group” therapy session), Dongmin doesn’t mind Bin hanging around. He shakes his head. “No, you’re no bother. Come sit.” He gestures to the chair.  
Bin takes a bit to get to the chair, using a cane to help himself walk. Dongmin knows they both woke up at relatively the same time, but Bin seems to be recovering much faster, physically at least. In Dongmin’s opinion, Bin’s mental state is rather unsteady.  
“Saw your parents on their way out,” Bin says. “They were probably just here, but they wanted me to tell you they’ll be back first thing in the morning.”  
Dongmin smiles, nodding. “Yeah, they’re sort of… Overbearing?”  
Bin’s face lights up when he smiles. Dongmin likes that.  
“Yeah,” Bin says. “Mine are like that, too. If they weren’t with me in the hospital room, then they made my sister stay with me.”  
“How old is she?” Dongmin asks. He can’t help the curiosity. It’s something about Bin, the way he holds himself, so open and honest, that makes Dongmin interested.  
“Uh, one year younger than me. So she’d be… Nineteen.” Bin blinks. “I still can’t believe I missed a birthday and everything.”  
Dongmin nods. “Yeah, it’s weird, right? Time just kept moving while we were glued to these”—he pats the mattress beneath him—”dumb beds.”  
Bin looks at his lap. “Yeah.” He rubs his neck. “Um.” His brows pull together. “You don’t remember, like… _anything_?”  
Dongmin swallows. “No, not really. There’s…” Dongmin sighs. “The doctor said it’s normal, but it’s more feelings associated with things than actual memories, and even the feelings are faint. Like with my parents, I know they meant a lot to me, but it’s like the feeling has been filtered and watered down.”  
“What about with me?”  
Dongmin looks at Bin, tilting his head. “What do you mean?”  
“Do you… _feel_ anything?”  
Dongmin smiles a little, and then the smile widens as he collects his thoughts. “Sort of. I don’t know how to explain it. Obviously something was, uh, going on between us. I’m not sure if we were…”  
“We were,” Bin says. “For a while. But it was different.”  
Dongmin raises a brow. “Different how?”  
Bin’s answer is cut off by someone knocking on the door. Without waiting for a response, the door swings open. Dongmin nods politely at the male nurse, wearing his mask like always.  
“Dongmin needs rest,” the male says, the first words Dongmin has ever heard him speak. “Sir, please leave.”  
“No,” Dongmin says, looking between the nurse and Bin. “It’s okay. He can stay.” Dongmin looks at Bin. “You can stay.”  
Bin shakes his head. “No, it’s fine, I can go. Don’t be too nice to me.”  
Dongmin smiles. “Seriously, Bin, stay.”  
The nurse pushes the needle into Dongmin’s outer arm. The pinch still hurts, just as always. Dongmin is certain he’ll never get used to being pricked by needles no matter how many times it happens. His doctor has stepped into the room now, too.  
“It’s a party in here, isn’t it?” his doctor says, looking at his clipboard and then up again. Confusion flashes across his face as his eyes settle on the nurse beside Dongmin. “Hang on, who are you? What are you doing?”  
The nurse drops the needle, and Dongmin hears it clatter on the tile floor. He rushes at the doctor, shoving him into the door. The doctor slips, sliding down against the door. Almost immediately a nurse is at his side.  
“Get that man!” the doctor shouts.  
Bin grabs his hand, but his eyelids feel heavy. “Dongmin,” Bin says, voice worried, “are you okay? Dongmin, stay awake.”  
Dongmin watches Bin turn around before his eyes shut completely. The yelling voices that follow sound slow and far away. Despite the panic rising in Dongmin’s chest, he can’t open his eyes. He’s in a tunnel now, with darkness at each end. Rather than try to fight the darkness and lose to it anyway, Dongmin gives in, letting it claim him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Who's that nurse? What does he want with Dongmin? What did he inject him with? Tune in next time to find out!
> 
> Unfortunately, though, I start another semester of college tomorrow so my updating might turn spotty. I'm going to do my best to update this at least once a week! If I can't, then every other week, but I promise, I won't leave you guys hanging for too long~
> 
> As always, leave me comments! I love reading your comments and knowing your reactions and thoughts about my fics. It makes me ha~ppy lol


	21. Tuesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _It’s a problem I don’t have a care in the world_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewjucLierFc)

“—from the hospital yesterday evening. Staff say they were unaware there was someone working at the hospital who wasn’t actually employed. According to one nurse, the young man fit in with all procedures and seemed to know what he was doing. Since then, police have pursued the man, but have yet to make any progress in their investigation. The incident involves one of the victims of the bus crash in Gangnam two years ago, and as such, the investigation is being pursued with the thought in mind that the same person is responsible for both incidents. We go live now to—”

The television screen goes black, and Dongmin withholds his sigh. His mom takes hold of his hand. “Are you sure you’re alright, sweetheart?”

Dongmin nods. “Yeah, I’m fine, Mom. Really.”

Dongmin’s dad stands, shaking his head and walking to the large windows in the room. “This is unbelievable,” he mutters. “Some _wack job_ just got into the hospital, and nobody knows who he is? He’s been here for over a _year_ , giving you who knows what. Whatever he gave you could have been slowly killing you for—”

“ _Heonwoo_.”

Dongmin’s dad turns, looking at him and his mom. He sighs. “Sorry. Bad habit.”

“Your father always does this,” Dongmin’s mom says, patting his hand again. “He gets worried and goes on a little trip with his words.”

Dongmin smiles at his mom’s forced laughter. She’s trying her best, they both are, but Dongmin can’t help but feel that everything is just a little out of place. 

Dongmin is saved by the entrance of his doctor. He closes the door behind himself, eyes glued to the papers in his hands. “Alright, well, Mr. Dongmin,” he begins.

“Is he going to be okay?” his mom asks immediately, sitting up further.

“Oh, of course! His vitals are all fine, and there’s no concerning abnormalities in his bloodwork. The shot he was being administered had a pretty heavy sedative. We found a slightly higher level of testosterone, and an unusually high amount of MPA in his system.”

“MPA?” his dad asks. “What’s that? Some kind of drug?”

“It’s a naturally occurring hormone,” the doctor says. “However, research links it to heavy memory loss.”

“Wait,” Dongmin says, sitting up, gears turning in his head. “You mean that guy is why I lost my memory?”

“Most likely, yes.” His doctor smiles, flipping another page on his clipboard. “Memory loss is normal as a result of head trauma, like what you experienced in the accident, so we didn’t think to investigate. We should’ve, though.”

“You’re lucky we aren’t pressing charges,” Dongmin’s dad says.

“ _Heonwoo_ ,” his mom hisses for the second time in less than five minutes.

“No, it’s okay, I understand.” The doctor flips through several pages. “On the bright side, we have a way to adjust the balance of hormones in your body, and there are several methods we can use to try and boost your memory recovery. It should go fairly quick, now that we know what we’re dealing with.”

“And what are you going to do to protect our boy?” his dad asks.

“We’ll be monitoring his room around the clock,” the doctor says. “A nurse will check on him every hour, and there have been adjustments made to the overall security of the hospital. I assure you, your son will be safe.”

Dongmin leans back into his pillows. He’ll start to remember, then. He’ll remember his childhood, his old friends, and he’ll get to finally go home. Even with the good news, there’s a sinking feeling in Dongmin’s chest. He hasn’t been able to shake it since he woke up. It’s like he’s underwater, his head just three centimeters from the surface, and someone is above the water looking down at him. He should be able to see them. He should _know_ who they are, what they want. As hard as he focuses, as hard as he tries to breach the surface, there isn’t even a single thread for him to grab hold of.

“—Dongmin, honey?”

Dongmin blinks, looking at his mom. “Um.”

She laughs, but Dongmin can see the worry in her eyes. He hates seeing that worry when he can’t even feel the same way.

“You’ll be okay if we head home, right?”

Dongmin swallows, nodding. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

His doctor ushers his parents out of the room, closing the door on the way. Dongmin leans his head back on the pillows. It feels like all he does these days is assure people that he’s fine. He is, physically, as fine as he can be given the current situation. He’s even awfully stable emotionally and mentally given his circumstances, at least according to every doctor he’s talked to. Dongmin should feel more than fine. He should feel grateful. He should feel incredibly lucky. Instead, he feels like he’s missed the biggest punchline in the history of the universe, and someone is dangling it over his head, just barely out of reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoopsies I accidentally deleted my first upload of this, so here it is a second time haha


	22. Saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _But in the end, I’m just alone_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f_ZzckRxDQ)

Dongmin chews on his bottom lip. “Are you sure we should be doing this?”

“It’s _fine_ ,” Bin sighs. “We’ve done this before anyway.”

Dongmin follows Bin carefully down the slope. He’s certain he would remember something like this. In fact, many of the things Bin has claimed they’ve done (and insisted they do again over the last week and a half) are outrageous things Dongmin is certain he would’ve remembered. They’ve gone to the aquarium, which seemed somewhat familiar with Bin splashing water at him from the touch tank. They’ve held hands, according to Bin, but doing the same again had brought back no memories. Despite Bin’s insisting, Dongmin had managed to get out of getting a tattoo that Bin promises they’ve gotten before.

It’s hard to walk around in the early light, but Dongmin follows Bin all the way down to the river’s edge. He stops beside Bin just as the first rays of sun break over the buildings at the horizon.

“You said we’ve watched the sunrise before?” Dongmin asks for clarification.

Bin nods. “Yeah. We were out here all night, actually. I wanted to do that again, but I doubted your parents would let me bring you out here in the middle of the night.”

“But they did before?”

Bin ducks his head, and Dongmin notices his smile. “You snuck out before,” Bin says. “Right out the front door, too, which was pretty dumb.”

“I snuck out?” Dongmin would never do something like that.

“You did.”

Dongmin watches the light brighten the edges of the buildings as the sun rises further, the sky turning from dark blue to oranges and pinks. It’s a breathtaking view, especially as the light starts to reflect off the river before them. He wishes he could remember being out here before. He wishes he could remember the relationship he supposedly had with Bin. Bin seems nice, really, but Dongmin doesn’t feel for Bin what Bin obviously feels for him. He knows Bin tries to hide it, but he doesn’t do a very good job at it. In fact, Bin is quite obvious with his feelings for Dongmin. More than once Dongmin has caught Bin just staring at him. He’s flattered, but—

“Sometimes,” Bin says, “I wish I forgot everything, too.”

Dongmin swallows.

“I’m starting to think I just imagined everything,” Bin says. “Or that it was all in my head, and not in yours, too.”

“You mean...the time loop?”

Bin nods. “Yeah, the time loop.” He shakes his head, looking down at his shoes. “Just saying it out loud makes me feel weird. A time loop.”

“It hasn’t been disproven,” Dongmin offers. “I mean, from a scientific stand point.”

Bin laughs shortly. “Yeah, but it also hasn’t been proven. People all across the world have reported being stuck in a time loop, but nobody has ever been able to prove it. We did research for weeks and found nothing.” Dongmin can hear Bin swallow. “We spent two months together, and we couldn’t figure anything out, and then all the sudden we wake up at the same time.”

Dongmin holds onto the railing. He isn’t sure what to say.

“I still have no idea why we woke up,” Bin says. “Or how we ended up in the time loop, if I’m really not just imagining it.”

“I’m sorry,” Dongmin says softly, but his words don’t seem to stop Bin at all.

“I mean, maybe it’s just some dumb stroke of bad luck,” he continues. “Or maybe it’s some celestial force that shoved us together into a loop of Tuesdays. Whatever it is, was—whatever caused it, it’s not fair that you got to forget everything while I’m stuck remembering it all. And now we’ve both been awake for almost two months, and you still—”

Bin turns, taking a few steps away. Dongmin doesn’t know why, but his chest aches. He can feel actual pain in his chest, right where his heart is, like someone has wrapped a hand around the organ and squeezed it with all their might. If he doesn’t even know what’s going on and he feels like this, he wonders what Bin must feel.

“I didn’t even get to tell you how I feel.” Bin is still facing away from him. “I mean, I told you that I like you, sure, but I didn’t get to tell you that I love you.”

Dongmin hates cliches, but he swears he could hear a pin drop in the silence following Bin’s words.

“I never told you how much I love you,” Bin says. “And now I could tell you, but it wouldn’t do any good because you don’t even understand why I love you. You don’t understand the things we went through together, because you can’t remember it.”

Bin turns around, and Dongmin hates the tears threatening to spill over Bin’s cheeks. “I love you,” Bin says, “and I know that you don’t feel the same way. Not anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, a long overdue update! Sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long! School started up and then I got sick (I'm better now, don't worry~), but I should hopefully get the last few chapters of this out relatively quick! I'm going to be writing up a storm this weekend so that I have stuff to post when I'm busy haha
> 
> Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this chapter!


	23. [PART 3] Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _Why are you worrying about that?_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2sMg8mCHds)

Dongmin has never been inside a police station before. His mom won’t let go of his hand, so Dongmin lets her hold it. He’s seen police bring in three different people in the time they’ve sat here waiting to see the head investigator on the case. There had apparently been some new information brought to light. Dongmin thought it was about time. According to his mom, who has been keeping track of the days, it’s been over three months since he woke up and it’s been almost a year and a half since the bus accident that landed him in a coma. The police assume that Dongmin was the target of the bus accident, if the deal with the fake nurse is anything to go by. As much as they’ve looked for anything linking the two incidents, however, they haven’t been able to find anything until two days ago.

“Lee Dongmin,” a strong voice says suddenly. Dongmin stands, facing a man in his mid-40s. “I’m Park Jungwoo. Follow me, please.”

A few curious eyes follow Dongmin and his parents as they trail behind Mr. Park. Now that Dongmin thinks about it, they don’t really know what new information has been found. The office Mr. Park leads them into is quite spacious, but papers and boxes and filing cabinets fill all of the space. In fact, the investigator has to move piles of papers off of chairs so that they can sit.

“Right,” Mr. Park says, sitting down heavily in the chair behind the desk. “I’m going to show you a couple of photos, and I want you to tell me if any of the people look familiar.”

Dongmin nods, clearing his throat. “I can do that.”

Dongmin pays close attention to each photo placed in front of him. They all look fairly similar to each other, especially in their eyes.

“Him,” Dongmin says at the sixth photo, tapping the edge of it gently. “I recognize him.” This was definitely the man that had been pretending to be a nurse. Though he had had half of his face covered by a mask, Dongmin recognizes his eyes.

“Kim Jingyu,” Mr. Park says. “One of our suspects. Hospital staff were able to help us level the playing field. We needed you to verify which person you recognized, however. Subconscious memory goes much further than we think.”

“So who is he?” Dongmin’s mom asks. “Is he the man who tried to poison Dongmin?”

“Kim Jingyu is a former classmate of Dongmin’s,” the investigator says. “He attended school with Dongmin from middle school until high school. He’s the only suspect who had a direct link to Dongmin, so we assumed he was our guy, but we had to be sure.”

“Hold on a second,” Dongmin’s dad cuts in, leaning forward. “What does this kid want with my son?”

Mr. Park gathers the photos, sticking them into a folder. “We believe Dongmin is responsible for Kim Jingyu’s removal from the academy they both attended for high school. While it seems weak, it might prove to be a motive for his actions. There might be other parties involved, so we’re tracing all—”

“So this kid is some psychopath?” Dongmin’s dad snaps. “He got himself into trouble, and he’s blaming it on Dongmin?”

“We aren’t sure, Mr. Lee, but all reports indicate—”

“You better find this bastard and make him—”

“ _Dad_.”

Three sets of eyes land on Dongmin. He swallows. “I think Mr. Park is right.”

His mom and dad both start asking questions right away, trying to talk over each other. Dongmin pulls in on himself, his shoulders hunching up around his neck. He should’ve stayed quiet.

“Please, for a moment,” Mr. Park says, “let him explain. Dongmin, anything you can remember would help immensely. Do you mind if I record this?”

Dongmin shakes his head. “No, it’s fine, go ahead.”

Mr. Park pulls out his phone, tapping on it before setting it flat on the desk. “In a clear voice, please state your name.”

Dongmin clears his throat again. “Uh, Lee Dongmin.”

Mr. Park nods. “Please tell me what you can remember. Every detail is important.”

Dongmin sits up a little taller in his chair, staring at the desk before him. “I’m pretty sure it was in my second year of high school,” Dongmin begins. “Jingyu and I had a few classes together, but I never really talked to him much. He wasn’t involved in any of the things I was, so we never had time to talk. I think I was after school to set up for a club event, and I had to get something from the science lab.” Dongmin’s brows pull together. “It might have been a mop? I can’t really remember.”

“That’s fine,” Mr. Park says. “Just say what you do remember.”

Dongmin nods. “Right. Um, I went into the science lab to get something, and Jingyu was there. He might’ve been burning paper in a trash can? I don’t really know, but I went to get a teacher, and he must’ve gotten kicked out of the school. I don’t think I ever saw him after that.”

“Until the hospital, correct?” Mr. Park asks. “The man you pointed out in the photos was the man pretending to be a nurse at the hospital?”

Dongmin nods, then glances at the phone. “Yeah, that’s the first time I’d seen him since that day in the science lab.”

“Can you recall anything Kim Jingyu said to you at the hospital that may help us in apprehending him?”

“Uh, no.” Dongmin wrings his hands. “Am I in danger?”

Mr. Park grabs his phone, ending the recording. “We’re going to do our best to make sure that you’re safe, Dongmin. I promise.”

Dongmin nods. “What about Bin?”

“Well, uh—” Mr. Park shakes his head. “What about him?”

“Is he in danger?”

Dongmin hasn’t spoken to Bin much in the last month. In fact, he hasn’t really spoken to Bin since they went to see a sunrise on the river. After Bin’s confession, Dongmin had felt heaviness in his chest, and Bin hadn’t looked at him for more than a few seconds the rest of the morning. They talked a few times between then and now, and Bin seemed to draw more into himself each time. Despite their lack of contact, however, Dongmin doesn’t want to see anything bad happen to Bin. He really wishes he could remember Bin and all of the things Bin says they did and apparently felt for each other. Unable to do that, however, Dongmin wants to at least look out for Bin’s safety.

“Why would he be in any danger?” Mr. Park asks. “It’s quite clear to us that Kim Jingyu has targeted you, and not your fellow classmate. We _did_ investigate the possibility of Moon Bin being the target, but with Kim Jingyu’s interest in you, specifically, at the hospital, we concluded that you’re his target.”

“So Bin is safe?” Dongmin doesn’t know why, but he really needs to hear it.

“Yes,” Mr. Park says, “Moon Bin is safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kim Jingyu, how dare you!! What do you guys think of this?? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about this new development in the story~
> 
> I'm going to do my best to update this every Monday from here until the end of the story! There are.. maybe 6 to 10 more chapters? We're getting real close to the end here!
> 
> Check me out [@snibnoom](https://snibnoom.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr!


	24. Day 126

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I used to think we’d share these memories_

Bin stares at his hand, at the thin red line around his pinky finger. The color is still bright. It had hurt a lot more than it had when he got it during the time loop. Maybe it had hurt less then because he wasn’t really living it, he was in a coma. Maybe it had hurt less because Dongmin had been beside him, holding his free hand and talking to distract him from the pain. Bin brushes a finger against the tattoo, two weeks old already but still fresh on his skin. If he couldn’t be with Dongmin, he could remind himself of Dongmin at least. The idea that maybe Dongmin would remember if he saw the tattoo had simply been an afterthought.

As the bus rolls to a stop, Bin gets to his feet. He’s going to have to walk the rest of the way to Dongmin’s house, but he doesn’t mind. It’ll allow him time to get his thoughts together. The day is nice, too, with the sun high in sparse clouds. In hindsight, Bin probably should’ve tried to call Dongmin first to see if he was even home. Dongmin might not even want to see him. He might show up to an empty house. He might show up and immediately be told to leave. Even with all these worries, however, Bin knows he needs to at least try. If he can get Dongmin to even glance at the tattoo, then maybe, just _maybe_...

Bin knocks on the door several times, sticking his hand in his pocket as soon as he has. One of the Lee’s cars is parked outside. Did Dongmin take the other one? Bin can’t seem to recall if Dongmin even has his license.

The door swings open, and Bin is face to face with Dongmin’s father. “Uh,” Bin starts, “hi.”

Mr. Lee smiles. “Hi, Bin, right? You’re looking for Dongmin?”

Bin nods. “Yeah, I wanted to—I _need_ to talk to him.”

“He should be back home soon,” Mr. Lee says. “Do you want to come wait inside?”

 _Just my luck_ , Bin thinks. “No, thanks. I’ll come back another time, or I’ll call first.”

“I insist.” Mr. Lee opens the door wider. “Come on in, he’ll be home soon with my wife. I’d hate for you to have come all this way for nothing.”

Bin ducks his head and steps inside. He’s technically been inside the Lee home before, but that was in the time loop. It’s a different experience entirely to be here, where Dongmin has grown up, in a situation where he can’t just reset everything at midnight.

“Living room is through there,” Mr. Lee says, gesturing down the hall. “Do you want something to drink? Soda, water?”

“Water is fine,” Bin says, bowing his head slightly. “Thank you.”

Bin goes to the living room as Mr. Lee turns a corner to go to, presumably, the kitchen. The house is quiet. Bin isn’t sure if Dongmin’s younger brother is at school or with a friend. Maybe he’s out with Dongmin and their mother? Bin holds his hands in his lap, one hand covering his other to hide the tattoo. From Dongmin telling him, Bin knows that his parents aren’t the most open to tattoos and other body modifications.

“Here’s your water.” Bin blinks, smiling politely at Mr. Lee as he takes the glass.

“Thanks,” Bin mumbles. He cradles the glass in his lap.

There are a few beats of silence as Mr. Lee settles into a chair beside the couch. The silence expands past his movements and takes hold of everything in the room. Bin tilts the glass slightly, watching the water creep towards the rim.

“I haven’t got the chance to say it yet,” Mr. Lee says, breaking the silence, “but I wanted to tell you thanks. For what you’re trying to do, I mean.”

Bin looks at Mr. Lee. “Um—”

“It’s obvious that you…” Mr. Lee sighs. “I can see that you _care_ for Dongmin, and I’m—we, my wife and I, we’re both very grateful for you trying to reach out to him and help him remember things from before the accident.”

“Oh.” Bin rubs his neck. “It’s nothing, really.”

“It’s important that Dongmin knows people still care about him,” Mr. Lee says. “Especially people outside of the family. He still doesn’t get out much, and he hasn’t gotten into contact with any of his old friends. Aside from you, of course.”

“We weren’t really friends,” Bin says, “before the accident, I mean.”

Mr. Lee’s eyes widen, and he leans back in his chair. “So, you were”—he clears his throat—”romantic?”

Bin swallows. It isn’t his place to be discussing a topic like this, especially when Dongmin doesn’t even know, but he nods anyway. “Yes, sir.”

“Thank God,” Mr. Lee says under his breath.

Bin’s brows pull together. “I’m sorry, I thought you would be upset? One of the first things Dongmin told me was that you said he isn’t allowed to date—”

“Every parent is going to say that,” Mr. Lee says. A smile finds its way onto his face. “My wife and I were worried about Dongmin taking life too seriously. We put a lot of pressure on him, but only because we know that he’s capable of some amazing stuff. You know what I mean, right?”

Bin nods, ducking his head to hide his growing smile. “I understand.”

“We’re back!” a cheerful voice yells suddenly.

Bin sits up, head swiveling towards the front of the house. Dongmin’s younger brother walks into the room with a bright smile that immediately falls away when he spots Bin.

“Who’re _you_?”

“This is Bin,” Mr. Lee says. “He’s a friend of Dongmin’s.”

“Dongmin has friends?”

“Don’t say that.” Mrs. Lee appears behind Donghwi, lightly hitting him on his shoulder. “Your brother has plenty of friends.”

Dongmin peeks over his mother’s shoulder. “Bin, oh, hey.”

Bin bows his head slightly in a silent greeting.

“Why don’t you boys head up to Dongmin’s room?” Mr. Lee says. “It’s a bit hot to hang out outside, and you probably want some privacy, right?”

Bin takes a sip of his water.

“R-Right,” Dongmin stammers. “Uh, Bin?”

Bin sets the glass of water on top of the coffee table, following Dongmin out of the living room. Mrs. Lee smiles at him, mouthing, “Thank you.” Bin understands that they’re happy he’s hanging out around Dongmin, but if this doesn’t work, he might just give up.

Dongmin’s room is a bit messier, a bit more disorganized than the version of his bedroom from the time loop. His bed is made messily, and there’s a stack of books on his nightstand surrounded by half-full water bottles.

“Sorry it’s a mess,” Dongmin says, swinging his door so it’s nearly shut. “I haven’t really had time to clean up. I’ve been trying to get up to speed with school. Get it finished as quick as possible, ya know?”

Bin nods. “Yeah. It sort of suits your personality, though.”

Dongmin raises a brow. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, just, um”—Bin rubs his neck—”you’re a bit messy, too. Sometimes, at least.”

“Sorry, I’m not following.”

Bin shakes his head. “No, of course not. I just meant that sometimes you’re a handful, and sometimes you say things that deviate entirely from being what you would usually say, and—”

“Are you _trying_ to insult me?”

Bin can’t help his smile. “No, I’m just saying things that you don’t understand.” He closes his eyes for a minute, then looks up at Dongmin. “That’s not why I came here.”

Dongmin folds his arms across his chest. “Then why _did_ you come here?”

Bin takes in a deep breath, then holds up his hand. “I got the tattoo.”

Dongmin raises a brow. “You got a tattoo? That’s it?”

“I got _the_ tattoo, Dongmin.” Bin glances at the red line around his pinky finger. “You remember, right? We skipped school, like normal, and then we went to the tattoo shop where I’d gotten a tattoo before.”

“Wait—”

“You got one, too, and you were _terrified_ ”—Bin laughs shortly—”I mean, absolutely terrified to look at it. You thought your parents would have a fit, but they didn’t because you kept your hand hidden when you got home.”

“I never—”

“We almost didn’t get them,” Bin continues, speaking faster, his pace matching the erratic pounding in his chest. “You nearly made us miss our bus stop, and so we would’ve missed our appointment. You tried distracting me, but I wasn’t gonna have it.” Bin’s brows pull together as he drops his hand. “It hurt a lot more getting the tattoo without you there to hold my other hand.”

Dongmin stares at him, brows furrowed and arms across his chest. “I’m sorry, I’m not following. What are you talking about?”

Bin swallows thickly. “I’m the one who picked out the tattoo,” Bin says. “I had to convince you to get it. You said we should just draw on ourselves with pen, but pen washes off. I knew we needed something more permanent to test our theory that things would last through the time loop if we expected them to. And they did. The tattoos were still there the next day, and the day after that.”

Dongmin’s mouth opens, but he doesn’t say anything.

“You didn’t believe that I used to write poetry.” Bin looks at the floor space between their feet. Though it’s only a few feet, the distance seems like an impassable canyon. “I believe in fate. I thought it had to be fate that we ended up in a time loop together, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe fate isn’t real. Maybe the whole thing was just in my head.”

As Dongmin shuffles forward, Bin looks up. He just barely gets to look at Dongmin’s tear-stained cheeks before Dongmin’s arms are around his shoulders, clinging to him tightly.

“Bin,” Dongmin breathes, and his voice shakes. “Bin, oh my—”

The tension bleeds out of Bin as he wraps his arms around Dongmin’s waist, pressing their bodies together. Dongmin takes in a shaky breath. Bin doesn’t have to see his face to know he’s crying. He rubs Dongmin’s back gently as Dongmin grabs handfuls of his shirt.

“Bin, I’m s-so sorry,” Dongmin stammers. “I don’t know—I had no idea, but—”

“Shh,” Bin hums. “It’s okay.”

Dongmin pulls back suddenly, wiping his eyes. “Bin, when we went to see the sunset, you said—” He takes a step back, arms pulling away from Bin as he covers his mouth with his hands. “Oh my God.”

Bin ducks his head. “It’s okay, Dongmin. I, um—back then, I just sort of started talking and—”

“I love you.”

Bin looks up at Dongmin.

“I love you,” Dongmin repeats, “and I’m so sorry that I never said it before. I love you, Bin.”

Bin lets out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. He grabs Dongmin, pulling him against himself again. Dongmin holds onto him, too, laughing, though the sound is tinted by his tears.

“I love you,” Bin whispers, his face pressed into Dongmin’s shoulder.

“I don’t know why I—”

“It’s okay.” Bin rubs Dongmin’s back. “It’s alright. We’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Dongmin pulls back just far enough that Bin can look him in the eyes. “Bin, it’s not okay.”

Bin swallows. “What do you mean?”

“I think this is all my fault.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He remembers! That confession, though... Really wish I could put emojis in these haha.
> 
> Anyway, leave a comment below! I love comments~ And, if you want, you can check out my blog!


	25. Day 132

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blSCDrx0CDA)

Bin stares at the chair in front of him on the bus, but he isn’t really seeing it. Blocking his vision is the mental image of Kim Jingyu’s face the one time Bin had run into him in school. He had ran into him, literally. Bin had been leaving class after finishing up some work for his teacher, and Jingyu had been stepping into the room. There had been no emotion in Jingyu’s face, just a blank stare as he looked at Bin and expected him to apologize. Bin swallows. He never knew Jingyu much, but knowing that Dongmin is Jingyu’s target makes his heart race.

The bus rolls to a stop and Bin disembarks with a handful of other people. He’s made this same trip five times in the last six days. Rather than going out to spend time together, Dongmin has consistently invited Bin over to work on their respective school work. Of course, however, they’ve both gotten distracted by each other more than a few times. 

Yesterday, Bin had caught Dongmin staring at him from across the table with _love_ written all over his expression. He had simply blushed and averted his eyes upon being caught. Bin had gotten to his feet, gone around the table, and planted a kiss against Dongmin’s lips. The day before that, their studying had taken place in the small, grassy backyard of the Lee residence. What had started out quite productive had ended up in the two of them cloud gazing until they were interrupted by Dongmin’s brother arriving home from school.

Bin takes the few stairs leading up to the Lee residence front door two at a time. He’s only knocked twice when the door swings open.

“Took you long enough,” Dongmin teases, waving Bin inside.

“Yeah, sorry, I got distracted by the cracks in the sidewalk,” Bin jokes. 

Dongmin’s laugh rings out through the room. It’s funny how a sound as mundane as a laugh can make warmth blossom in his chest. Before Dongmin, Bin never would’ve expected that. 

Dongmin turns on his heels, walking a few steps backwards before stopping. “You didn’t bring your backpack?”

Bin hums, shaking his head. “I thought I could use a break.”

Dongmin sighs. “You can’t take breaks! You’re just here to bother me, aren’t you?”

Bin smirks. “Maybe.” At Dongmin’s mildly-upset expression, Bin laughs. “Okay, okay. I’ll sit here, and you can study.” He flops down on the couch that separates the living space from the dining area.

Dongmin’s sigh sounds again, followed by the sound of a chair being pulled out. “You’re going to fall even more behind, Bin.”

“Oh, just study and let me slack off.” Bin slides his phone out of his pocket, opening the game he had closed before leaving home.

The room fills with a collection of soft sounds. Somewhere in the house, a clock is clicking loudly. It barely rivals the sound of Dongmin’s pencil scratching against paper and the brush of the pages in his book flipping. Bin’s tapping feet join the mix, and eventually the central air system flips on, humming softly. It’s days like this that Bin missed particularly. Perhaps he’d gotten too attached to their lives in the time loop?

Before he can entertain his thoughts, Dongmin’s chair scrapes against the floor loudly. Bin twists on the couch to look at Dongmin. He watches him walk around the end of the couch, a smile growing on his face as Dongmin makes himself comfortable on the couch, his head in Bin’s lap.

“What happened to studying?” Bin asks, brushing Dongmin’s hair off his forehead.

“I decided there’s something more important than studying.”

It’s Bin’s turn to blush from Dongmin’s stare. He doesn’t look away from Dongmin’s eyes, though, instead taking in the way they shine. Bin smiles unconsciously, tracing the bridge of Dongmin’s nose with his finger.

“I missed you,” Dongmin says softly. “You were around, but I missed you, and I didn’t even know I missed you.”

Bin’s smile softens. “It’s okay.”

Dongmin shakes his head, sitting up. “It’s not okay. You had to be _alone_ , but I was here, and—”

Bin grabs Dongmin’s hand, the movement stopping Dongmin in the middle of his sentence. “How many times do I have to tell you that this isn’t your fault?”

Dongmin drops his eyes. “But it _is_ my fault. I’m the one Jingyu is targeting, and if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been in a coma. You wouldn’t have missed out on so much of your life, and I wouldn’t have caused you so much trouble.”

Bin pulls Dongmin’s hand up, kissing his knuckles softly. He tugs Dongmin close until he’s able to hug him, both arms wrapping around Dongmin completely.

“Getting caught in a coma is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“But—”

Bin pulls back, holding Dongmin by his shoulders. “Listen to me, Dongmin. This is _not_ your fault. You aren’t at fault. Okay?”

Dongmin swallows visibly.

“Yeah, I missed out on a chunk of my life because I was in a coma, but you were in a coma, too. You didn’t cause me to be in a coma.”

“But you—”

“I’m not done.” Bin cups Dongmin’s cheek, his thumb brushing over smooth skin. “Because of that coma, because of the weird time loop we got trapped in, I was able to meet you. Fate, destiny, call it whatever you want, but that happened for a reason.”

Dongmin’s eyes drop to look at his lap, but Bin simply bends forward until he knows Dongmin is looking at him.

“Even if it’s your fault, I’m glad it happened. Aren’t you?”

Dongmin chews on his bottom lip for a moment before he nods. “I’m glad I got to meet you, but this whole situation—it _is_ because of me. It’s because I got Jingyu kicked out of school.”

Bin shakes his head. “He’s choosing to do this. Dongmin, please, you have to believe it. This isn’t your—”

Dongmin’s phone dings, interrupting Bin. The device caught both of their attention, so Bin doesn’t object when Dongmin scoops the device off the coffee table. He does, however, feel worry grow in his chest at Dongmin’s change in expression.

“It’s him,” Dongmin whispers. “He got my number.”

Bin leans over. “Who?”

The notification lights up Dongmin’s phone. It’s just a text message from a random phone number, but it drives chills down Bin’s spine.

_Did you think it was going to be that easy to avoid me?_

Bin opens his mouth to speak, interrupted again by the ding of Dongmin’s phone.

_I’m going to ruin your life, just like you ruined mine._

“I have to call my mom,” Dongmin says, his voice shaking in every word. “Bin, I—how did he get my number?”

“It’s okay.” Bin suddenly feels like they’re being watched, despite them being alone in the house. “Call your mom. I’m calling the cops.”

* * *

 

Bin wrings his hands in front of himself, watching the fear and worry develop on Dongmin’s face as he goes over the events with a second officer. He feels like marching over and wrapping Dongmin in a thick blanket, holding him and telling him that he’s okay. Instead, he stays sitting where he is in the police station. He’s a bystander to the situation. He isn’t the target, so the police are hardly interested in him.

There had been a few more text messages that came in, even as they drove to the police station in the back of the cop car. Dongmin had been pulled away from Bin immediately once his parents arrived, and Bin hasn’t been able to get close enough since. Every once in a while, though, Dongmin glances over at him. Each time, the worry in Dongmin’s eyes is deeper than the last. Though the situation has nothing to do with him, Bin feels responsible for making sure Dongmin is safe. He had sat on that couch beside Dongmin and been completely useless in making Dongmin feel any better about the threatening text messages.

_Did you think it was going to be that easy to avoid me?_

_I’m going to ruin your life, just like you ruined mine._

_You’re going to lose everything, just like I did._

_You thought you were safe. So did I. You can’t be safe for your whole life. Neither can those closest to you._

_I’ll be in touch._

“Bin?”

Bin stands up so quickly that he’s certain he’ll fall over. Dongmin’s eyes are red around the edges, and his hair is sticking out around his ears. Despite being in such a public place, Bin pulls Dongmin against his chest. Dongmin’s arms wrap around his waist, his face against Bin’s neck. Bin rubs Dongmin’s back when he lets out a shaky breath.

“They’re trying to track where the texts came from,” Dongmin says softly after a little while. “At least, they were earlier. They haven’t said anything about it yet.”

“Are you okay?” Bin asks, pulling back only far enough to look at Dongmin properly. “I mean, _really_ okay?”

Dongmin opens his mouth, but closes it right away. He shakes his head, and with the movement, tears spill from his eyes. Bin wraps Dongmin in a hug again. Dongmin doesn’t make much noise, but Bin can feel the wetness of tears against his shoulder.

“I’m scared,” Dongmin whispers, hands grabbing handfuls of the back of Bin’s shirt. “I’m so _scared_ , Bin.”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Bin says. “I promise.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Bin wraps his arms tighter around Dongmin. “Because I just am.”

Despite his words, however, Bin _isn’t_ sure. He’s just as scared as Dongmin. He knows there’s really no way he, personally, can protect Dongmin, but he’s going to do his best. He’s going to try his hardest. If he’s the only line of defense between Dongmin and Jingyu, then Bin will willingly let himself be used as a shield. He’s going to protect Dongmin if it’s the last thing he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's to the start of another week, and a new chapter to ring it in! 
> 
> What did you guys think? What do you think will happen? Leave me a comment below! I try to respond to every comment, but sometimes I don't have the time, though I read all of them nonetheless. 
> 
> I'll be back again next Monday with the next chapter! Only four left!


	26. Black Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _The real name of love is definitely hatred_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpfmnVurbkw)

_Did you think it was going to be that easy to avoid me?_

_I’m going to ruin your life, just like you ruined mine._

_You’re going to lose everything, just like I did._

_You thought you were safe. So did I. You can’t be safe for your whole life. Neither can those closest to you._

_I’ll be in touch._

Jingyu pulled the cloth out of his jacket pocket, wiping the phone before dropping it into the trash can at the cafe. He dropped in the coffee he had just bought, as well, despite it still being warm. He hadn’t had any intention to drink it anyway.

As he walks down the road, Jingyu tries to remember exactly when he had created his plan. He still has all the folders and notes he had kept. It had been a little easier than he had liked. A little bit of a challenge would’ve made it more exciting, but everything went off just like he had planned. It was too easy.

It had always been clear to Jingyu that Dongmin would be his target. Through the many iterations of his plan, that fact had never changed. Jingyu couldn’t attribute all the issues of his life to Dongmin’s fault, but he was the easiest target. The first target, at least. Jingyu’s life had been moderately terrible before he was kicked out of the school. He wouldn’t let Dongmin ruin the rest of his life. So he set out on revenge.

Jingyu crosses the road, shouldering between two elderly women walking too slowly for his pace. He ignores their huffs of entitlement. Don’t they know that everything won’t be handed to them? Jingyu had learned that early. His father had taught him that lesson _very_ early. Despite Jingyu learning the lesson of life’s struggles, however, things still hadn’t worked. His list of enemies grew and grew. While making their lives even with his own would be fairly simple, it wasn’t until the devastation of Dongmin’s treachery that Jingyu truly set out for revenge.

It hadn’t been terribly hard to get a job as a bus driver. A few phone calls and a bit of forgery on his resume had been simple. Jingyu _still_ hasn’t seen any changes in their security or hiring process. He assumes that the will of the lazy will just never change. For the short while that Jingyu actually spent training and learning the ropes, he suspects he had enjoyed himself. Nearly everybody else seemed to enjoy themselves, at least.

Mr. Choi had been exceptionally fond of his job. He drove one of three morning routes that would take students to nearly the front gate of the academy for advanced learning that Jingyu had one been proud to attend. Mr. Choi had a new story to tell every day about the students he drove to school. Public transport seemed to be his passion, and the students and other passengers were his motivation. Jingyu had simply been lucky enough to set his sights on Mr. Choi’s route first.

Jingyu boarded Mr. Choi’s bus at the very first stop of his morning route. From a simple search on social media, Jingyu had found that Dongmin took the bus to school every morning. He could’ve easily found out more, but he wanted to envision his plan in action. He wanted to know exactly how it would happen, at what time it would happen. It had to be perfect.

When Dongmin boarded the bus, Jingyu felt nothing. Instead, he _knew_ something. He knew that Dongmin had to suffer. He just wasn’t sure how, at least not until he realized that the bus stayed relatively empty. Jingyu had no want to cause destruction in the lives of innocent bystanders, but sometimes collateral damage just can’t be avoided.

Mr. Choi had made no noise when Jingyu killed him.

Jingyu had, unfortunately, skinned his knee when diving out of the moving bus. He assumes some damage just can’t be avoided.

For two weeks, Jingyu monitored the news. He had succeeded in phase one of his plan, but he was still far from where he needed to be. Dongmin was nice enough, but he had to pay. Jingyu couldn’t let Dongmin go on living his cushioned life while he was struggling to advance himself. So, Jingyu began doing what he did best: inventing.

Getting a job at the very hospital Dongmin was now secluded to was almost easier than getting a job as a bus driver. The forgery was easier, with certificates easily printed from online sources. Scrawling handwriting was easy to master, especially as he trained his non-dominant hand. In actuality, Jingyu could’ve ended it at any time he wanted. There were so many substances in the hospital that Jingyu could access so easily. He could’ve killed Dongmin at any time he wanted, but that wasn’t his goal. He didn’t want to kill Dongmin. He wanted to make him suffer.

After preparations and after landing the job, it was easy. Nobody questioned Jingyu routinely checking on the victim in a coma. Nobody even knew about the shots, as he could easily hide them in his palm when walking. Nobody questioned his preference to check on one of them over the other. And once Dongmin woke up a year later, still nobody bothered to question him.

Dongmin’s recovery rate, however, was shocking. Jingyu had to do something to immobilize Dongmin, or he wouldn’t be able to reach him anymore. Dongmin’s incoherent mumbles of “Bin, where’s Bin” on his first day of partial lucidity were wiped out as Jingyu increased the dosage he gave Dongmin each day. Jingyu would make sure that Dongmin could barely remember his own name, let alone the names of those closest to him. It would separate him from their world, pushing him further into a corner of his own, alone and away from the rest of the world. Just like Dongmin had done to Jingyu in getting him removed from the academy. It was too easy. It was possibly the easiest thing Jingyu had ever done.

And then he had been interrupted. Jingyu had immediately added that doctor to his list of people that had ruined his life. He kept to himself for a while after that. His initial plan had failed, and now he needed a new phase to ruin Dongmin’s life with. Phase three had to be perfect. It had to be the last phase. It had to be the final phase that would ruin Dongmin’s life.

Jingyu smirks to himself, skipping for a brief moment. He had his plan for phase three. All he had to do was execute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jingyu is... well, what do _you_ think he is? 
> 
> Hopefully this chapter cleared up some stuff? We're getting real close to the end here! I hope you guys are enjoying this fic, and hopefully you enjoy this chapter even though it's probably not what you expected~
> 
> Leave me a comment below! I love reading and responding to your comments! I'll be back again with the next chapter in a week^^


	27. Day 145

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _If this is a dream, please let me wake up_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcKR0LPwoYs)

Dongmin rubs his palms against his thighs. He can’t recall a time he’s ever been this nervous, not when giving a speech or before taking a big test. It’s like a million little fireworks have exploded throughout his body, making it impossible to form a single coherent thought. His phone is burning a hole in this leg. And nobody on the bus other than Bin knows what’s happening.

“We should just go to the police,” Bin says under his breath. “They’ll know what to do.”

_If you go to the police, I’ll hurt your brother._

“I’m serious, Dongmin. He’s probably bluffing. He wouldn’t really hurt your brother.”

_Come to this location. I want to talk. And I have insurance._

“Dongmin, look at me.”

He tears his eyes away from the seat in front of them, focusing on Bin. His eyes are wide behind his glasses, and behind his eyes is worry in it’s purest form. Dongmin doesn’t shy away when Bin cups his jaw. 

“Please. Let’s just go to the police.”

But Dongmin can’t go to the police. Too many people have already gotten hurt because of him. The people on the bus had been injured. His family had lost him for over a year. Bin had lost out on part of his life. And now Jingyu has his brother tied up in an old building, and he has a gun. That much had been clear from the photo.

Dongmin wishes the bus could move faster. No, actually, he wishes none of it had ever happened. As happy as it had all made him, as happy as he had been once finding Bin in the time loop, he wishes it had never happened. If it had never happened, then he wouldn’t have to be worrying so much about Bin’s safety when his brother is the one truly in danger. Dongmin wishes Bin had missed the bus that morning, or that he’d canceled. He wishes anything else had happened that would’ve led to Bin being safe.

Dongmin wishes he didn’t care for Bin as much as he does, but he does. He glances at Bin, swallowing at the worry in his eyes. It’s his fault. It’s Dongmin’s fault, and Bin is probably going to end up hurt because of it.

* * *

 

The building is made of dark brick, and nearly all the windows are blocked with wood panels or newspaper. Dongmin swallows, squeezing Bin’s hand tightly.

“There’s nothing I can say that’ll get you to leave, is there?” Dongmin asks, glancing at Bin.

Bin shakes his head. “Nothing you say would make me leave you. Let’s find your brother.”

Dongmin clings to Bin’s hand as they approach the building. There’s an obvious entrance, if the way the door is propped open is anything at all to judge by. Bin stops, pulling Dongmin back a few steps.

“Maybe we should call the cops,” Bin says. “Or I’ll leave, and I’ll call the cops.”

“You saw the photo.” Dongmin swallows. “He has my brother in there.”

Bin chews on his bottom lip. “I just— This place gives me a really bad feeling, alright? I don’t think we should go in there.”

“He’s my brother, Bin, I have to.” Dongmin runs his thumb over Bin’s knuckles. “Go. Call somebody. I’ll go in by myself.”

Bin scoffs. “Are you nuts? I’m not letting you go in there alone.”

“Then it’s settled.” Dongmin looks at the building, craning his neck to see to the top. “We go in.”

If old, abandoned buildings were characterized by a smell, it would be this exact smell. Skunk spray mixed with the smell of roadkill and two-month-old milk fills the air. Dongmin holds his shirt over his mouth and nose, treading carefully across the dusty floor. There are a few tracks, some of them dragging. They cross over one another, leading nowhere. Shelves reach towards the ceiling, dwarfing Dongmin and Bin. Though they’re empty, they still obscure their view.

“I don’t like this,” Bin whispers harshly. “It’s too quiet.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know we’re here yet.”

“Oh, he _knows_.”

Dongmin whirls around, spotting Jingyu a few meters behind them. The canister in his hands and the gas mask on his head spell trouble, but it’s too late. The fine mist is already in the air, even as Dongmin stumbles backwards, dragging Bin with him.

“Run,” Dongmin gasps as he stumbles sideways. “Bin, run!”

“How _sweet_ ,” Jingyu teases, his voice flat. “You think he’s going to get out of this alive?”

Dongmin’s feet fail him and he collapses to the floor, Bin continuing to back away from Jingyu as he steps closer. 

“Don’t—” Dongmin coughs. His vision is tilted as he leans sideways. “You—”

“Don’t worry, Dongmin,” Jingyu sing-songs. “Anybody could’ve missed the obvious photoshop in that picture of your sweet brother. He’s fine, at school where he should be.”

There’s a crash behind Dongmin, and a moan from Bin. Dongmin twists, seeing Bin on the floor with a pile of trash.

“And you’ll be fine, too,” Jingyu says. “Bin, here, on the other hand.” Jingyu hums. “He just can’t stay away from trouble, can he?”

“Bin,” Dongmin gasps, dragging himself towards the other.

Jingyu is there suddenly, his foot pressing down on Dongmin’s hand. Dongmin cries out, unable to pull his hand out from under Jingyu’s foot.

“Poor Dongmin,” Jingyu whines.

Dongmin rolls onto his back, staring up at Jingyu. His face bounces around in his vision. Dongmin swears there are at least three of him hovering around. He struggles to keep his eyes open, arching in an effort to move towards— 

What is he trying to do again? He’s so sleepy. Despite his pounding heart, Dongmin lays his head on the ground, cradling his hand against his chest when the foot on top of it moves. Why are his eyes so heavy? Why is his body so heavy? Dongmin blinks lazily, twisting slightly. Maybe he’ll be able to continue doing what he’s doing if he sleeps for a little while. Dongmin nods to himself. _Yeah_ , he thinks. _I’ll just take a short nap._

* * *

 

Dongmin wakes with a start, sitting up quickly. A rushing sounds fills his ears as his vision sways from the sudden movement. He blinks hard, pressing his hand to the floor to push himself to his knees. Just setting his hand on the floor makes him cry out, and he pitches forward. His fingers are bent out of shape, broken.

_Bin._

There’s a quiet shout that draws Dongmin’s attention. He groans, leaning to his other side. It takes him too long to get to his knees, where he waits for at least a minute, swaying from the dizziness. The shout comes again and Dongmin forces himself to his feet, stumbling through his swaying steps, continuing towards the voice even as his vision fades in and out.

Dongmin walks right into something hard and heavy. He blinks rapidly, feeling the door in front of him.

“Bin?” Dongmin croaks. It hurts to talk.

“Dongmin! Dongmin, you have to leave, now.”

Dongmin squints, pushing at the door. It wiggles, buckling, but it won’t open. “What? Why would I leave—”

“There’s a bomb.”

Dongmin straightens, blinking hard. “What?”

“There’s a bomb on a table across from me. I’m tied to a chair, and the chair is tied to one of the shelves. Dongmin, please, you have to leave. Get as far away—”

“Are you serious?” Dongmin asks, panic creeping up in his mind. “There’s seriously a _bomb_?”

“Yes, Dongmin, there’s a bomb. Please, you need to—”

“Shut up,” Dongmin snaps, pushing against the door. “I’m not leaving. I’m— I’ll call the police.”

Dongmin digs into his pocket with his good hand, ignoring Bin’s protests. His phone is gone. Dongmin wastes too much time stumbling around to find his phone, locating it a few feet away from where he woke up. 

“What’s your emergency?”

“Bomb,” Dongmin breathes, stumbling back to the door. “There’s a bomb. My— Bin, he’s inside.”

“Can you tell me where you are?”

“I don’t—” Dongmin turns, pressing his back against the door. He drives his feet into the ground, using all his weight to try and push the door down. “I don’t know.”

“That’s okay. Stay on the line, I’m tracking your call. Can you move away from the source of the bomb?”

“I can’t,” Dongmin huffs. “Bin is inside. He’s— Jingyu tied him up, and now he’s trapped, and there’s a bomb. You have to— He can’t _die_.”

“Dongmin!” Bin yells. “Just go! Run!”

“Shut up!” Dongmin yells back, slamming his fist against the door. “I’m not leaving!”

“Sir, please calm down. You need to move away from the bomb.

“I can’t,” Dongmin sobs, sinking to the floor. “I can’t leave you, Bin. This is my fault.”

“What? This— Dongmin, I swear, if I live through this—”

“Don’t say that.” Dongmin pushes against the door, even though he knows it’s no use. “You’re going to get out of there. The cops—” He directs his attention to the phone. “Are they coming?”

“Yes, sir, they’re on their way right now. Five minutes, tops.”

Dongmin knocks against the door, his vision swaying. “Did you hear that, Binnie? The cops are coming. Five minutes, and then you’ll be safe.”

Bin is quiet.

“Bin? Are you okay?”

“They won’t make it.”

Dongmin’s mouth is dry. “What do you mean?”

“Three minutes, then the bomb goes off.”

Dongmin swallows, pushing against the door again. “Hello? Ma’am? Please, tell them to hurry. He says there’s three minutes on the bomb. Please, he can’t die. He can’t—”

“I’ve alerted the officers. I can assure you, they’ll be there as soon as they can. In the meantime, I need you to vacate the area for your own—”

“I’m not leaving!” Dongmin cries, his words breaking. He wipes at his eyes harshly. “I’m not leaving. Do you hear me, Bin? I’m not going to leave you alone. I’ll never leave you alone.”

“Dongmin, please. You have to go.”

Dongmin kneels before the door, his forehead resting against it. “I would rather die right here than live a single day without you, Bin.”

There’s silence, and then Bin laughs softly. “You’re so stupid. You know that, right?”

Dongmin wipes at his nose. “Shut up. You’re the stupid one, letting yourself get tied up.”

The seconds tick past. Dongmin swears he hears sirens, and then he’s certain he hears them. He climbs to his feet, using the door as support. “Bin, they’re here. Oh my god, they’re here, Bin, the cops.”

“They’re here?” Bin sounds in disbelief. “Dongmin, okay, you can go now. Let them handle it. Get safe.”

Dongmin ignores Bin’s requests. “We’re getting you out of there, Bin. You’re not going to die.”

“Please, you have to get away. If they can’t stop the bomb in time, I don’t want you to—”

“Stop that.” Car doors slam behind Dongmin. “I’m not leaving you.”

Officers suddenly surround Dongmin, some working to open the door, while two others grab Dongmin by the arms. They drag him backwards, and Dongmin digs his feet into the ground.

 

“No!” Dongmin cries out, twisting. “Let me go! Let me—”

The door of the building busts inwards, and a group of officers rush inwards. Dongmin relaxes for the shortest moment, but that’s all he needed to give. The larger of the officers lifts Dongmin, carrying him away. They lock him in the back of a cop car. No amount of screaming or banging on the window gets them to let him out. Dongmin holds his breath, eyes glued to the building. 

One minute passes.

Two minutes pass.

The bomb should’ve gone off by now.

When the door opens, Dongmin stumbles out. He doesn’t care who opened it or why. His feet carry him unsteadily in the direction of the building. Bin is there, too, running straight for him. Dongmin trips, nearly falling to the floor before Bin catches him, both arms winding tightly around his torso. Dongmin whines when Bin squeezes him too tightly.

“Sorry, sorry,” Bin laughs, releasing Dongmin. He holds Dongmin’s jaw, wiping at his cheeks. Dongmin hadn’t even realized he was crying, though it explains his blurry vision.

“I thought— You were— Bin, I was going to lose you,” Dongmin stammers. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

Bin shushes Dongmin, holding him against his chest. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m fine.”

“No, you don’t get it.” Dongmin pulls away. “I don’t know what I would do without you. I mean, after everything, this is my fault, and you almost—”

“Hey.” Dongmin looks Bin in the eyes. “This is _not_ your fault, got it? You did nothing to warrant this.”

“But—”

Bin presses his index finger against Dongmin’s lips. “I’m not done.”

Dongmin’s lips tighten into a flat line.

“If this is your fault, then it has to be my fault, too. And you know it isn’t my fault, right?”

Dongmin nods.

Bin smiles, just the corners of his lips tilting upwards. “Then you know this isn’t your fault either, right?”

Dongmin swallows, nodding. He wipes at his cheek with his good hand. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m—” Dongmin ducks his head. “Sorry.”

Bin’s lips press against his forehead gently. “Don’t be sorry.”

“I have to be,” Dongmin said. “Before, on the way here, I wished that none of this had ever happened. I wished that we had never met, that the time loop stuff never happened, that we had never gotten to know each other because I was so _worried_ about you.”

“Dongmin—”

“That was a mistake.” Dongmin looks Bin in the eyes. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me. I mean it.”

It’s Bin’s turn to duck his head, but he does so with flushed cheeks. “Dongmin, I—”

There’s sudden yelling. Officers pour out of the building, some diving to the sides, the faster ones taking cover further away. Dongmin pulls at Bin’s shirt, urging him away. It’s too late.

The last thing Dongmin sees is a blinding white light.

The last thing Dongmin hears is Bin’s screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you remember when I said this story has a happy ending? I promise it does. Please don't hate me.
> 
> I'll have the next chapter out in under 24 hours. I can't leave you guys waiting forever, especially on a cliff hanger like this.
> 
> But in the meantime, leave me some comments! Yell at me, if you feel like you must. I'll understand~


	28. Day 146

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _Just stay with me_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HadTXRCsxu0)

Bin shifts, rolling his head sideways. Hair falls into his eyes lazily. As he scrunches his nose, a gentle hand moves his hair.

“Are you awake?” someone whispers.

Bin cracks his eyes open, shutting them again almost immediately at the bright lights in the ceiling. “Jeez, what is this?” he mutters. “Why is it so bright?”

There’s a soft laugh, some shuffling, and a click. The light beyond Bin’s lids darkens. His eyes split open again, greeted by a dim room rather than bright fluorescent lights. It still takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the blurry scene around him. There are closed blinds over the window, but light still makes its way into the room. Somewhere beyond the room are people. Bin can’t quite make out the chatter.

“Oh, wait, you probably need your glasses.”

Bin blinks, furrowing his brows as his glasses are slid onto his face. “Right, th—”

The concern on Dongmin’s face stops Bin cold. His eyes scan over Dongmin quickly. “What’s wrong? Oh, you’re— What happened to your hand?”

“Oh.” Dongmin looks down at the cast covering his hand and wrist. “Uh, Jingyu happened. He stepped on my hand, broke my fingers.”

Bin shifts, pushing himself upright. “I’ll—” 

Dongmin is there immediately, gently pushing him down by his shoulder. “Don’t move. You could rip out your stitches.”

Bin frowns, brows pulling together. “Stitches? What— How long have I been out? What happened?”

Dongmin swallows visibly, his hand grasping the railing on the bed. “You, um, you got hurt pretty bad. It’s Tuesday, again.” He laughs shallowly, but the sound is restricted, so it only makes Bin worry. “After your surgery last night, you just slept it off, I guess.”

Bin’s frown deepens. “Are you okay?”

Dongmin scoffs. “Yeah, Bin, I’m fine. How can you even ask that when you’re—”

Bin leans up as Dongmin stops, his lips pressed together tightly. “When I’m _what_? What happened?”

“The bomb,” Dongmin mumbles. “There were two of them. The first would’ve made the second go off at the same time. That’s what the officers said. But when the first didn’t go off, the second one went off alone. They couldn’t get to it in time, and we weren’t far enough away.” Dongmin hesitates. “Glass, metal— A bunch of little _things_ shot everywhere, and a lot of them hit you. The doctors say if it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve—”

Bin doesn’t push Dongmin when he stops again. Instead, he twists his arm around as much as he can and works Dongmin’s hand free of the railing. He winds their fingers together, thumb brushing over Dongmin’s pinky.

“They say you saved my life,” Dongmin continues after a quiet moment. “They’re certain I would’ve been a goner, but the shrapnel missed all of your vital stuff. Some of the pieces were really big, so they had to stitch you up. You were in surgery for about six hours. For a while, they—”

Dongmin takes a deep breath, pulling his good hand away from Bin’s to wipe at his eyes. “You almost died, Bin, from blood loss. It was really dangerous, and they almost didn’t have enough blood for you, so I had to give some. We— I thought you were _gone_.”

“Dongmi—”

“But you’re not.” Dongmin smiles suddenly, despite the tears running down his cheeks. “You’re not gone. You’re here.” His smile falters, then the flood gates open.

Bin immediately tugs Dongmin down, wrapping both arms around him as best as he can. Dongmin’s face presses against his neck. Bin’s arms are twisted uncomfortably, but he clings to Dongmin as best as he can. It’s hard for Bin not to cry when Dongmin is. A nurse sticks her head in the room, and Bin signals everything is fine with a thumbs up. She’s kind enough to duck out of the room, closing the door as she goes.

Dongmin huffs quietly. Bin tilts his head slightly, raising a brow. “Are you _laughing_?”

Dongmin snorts, pulling back slightly. “Y-Yeah. I’m—” He pulls away further, sniffling. “I’m just really happy that you’re okay.”

Bin presses his hand to the side of Dongmin’s face, wiping at his cheek with his thumb. “I saved you from the second bomb, and you saved me from losing too much blood. We’re even, okay?”

Dongmin chuckles, ducking his head. “Yeah, even.” He sniffles again, wiping his eyes. “Sorry, I just—” He huffs, straightening and opting to hold Bin’s hand again. “I’m just focusing on me. Are you okay?”

Bin swallows, nodding slightly. “Yeah, ya know, I think I’ll be fine. Just, uh.” Bin looks at their joined hands resting on the railing and traces the side of Dongmin’s hand gently. “Thank you.”

“What? Why are you thanking me?”

Bin looks up at Dongmin. His eyes are red around the edges, as is the tip of his nose. He looks tired. Bin wonders for a moment if Dongmin slept at all while he did. It’s been a day since what happened, as far as Bin can gather. Has Dongmin eaten? Has he had enough to drink?

“Thank you for not leaving me.”

Dongmin opens his mouth, but no words come out.

“I know I was telling you to leave,” Bin continues, eyes locking onto their hands, “but I was so scared. I thought for sure that I was gonna die, and I didn’t— I _don’t_ wanna die, Dongmin.” 

Bin glances up at Dongmin, who is smiling gently.

“So, um, yeah.” Bin coughs, clearing his throat. “Thank you for not leaving me.”

Dongmin squeezes Bin’s hand gently. “I told you. I’ll never leave you.”

Bin swallows, nodding. “I know. Thank you. Dongmin, I—”

Bin bites his lower lip. A smile has tilted Dongmin’s mouth up on one side. His hair is a bit long, almost hanging in his eyes. Bin imagines he’s seen a lot of different sides of Dongmin, and through all of it, he’s always remained constant. Bin has always had Dongmin to rely on, ever since that day in the time loop. He’s been a steady source of comfort and inspiration. Bin wipes his eyes at the feeling of tears.

“I love you,” Bin says, his voice much softer than intended. “You know that, right?”

Dongmin gives a short laugh. “Yeah, I know. I love you, too.” He bows his head. “I should probably go get a doctor. They said to tell someone when you’re awake.”

Bin holds onto Dongmin’s hand for as long as he can as he walks away. The television in the corner of the room is turned off, but the remote is nearby. Bin has to lean and make himself slightly uncomfortable to grab the remote. He settles back in comfortably before flipping on the TV, which is conveniently already on a news channel.

_“...pursuit of Kim Jingyu, the man responsible for the bus wreck on the southside of Seoul almost a year and a half ago. Kim has been able to avoid the police up until yesterday, when he targeted two survivors of the bus crash. Police are reportedly still in pursuit of Kim, but have been able to flush him out of where he has been reportedly hiding for the last year and a half. It is believed that Kim is responsible for the car theft in Gangnam early this morning. We’re currently watching a developing scene at—”_

“Alright, Mr. Moon!”

Bin hurriedly presses the mute button on the remote, turning his attention to the doctor that has entered ahead of Dongmin.

“We might have to reserve a room for the two of you, with how often you’re in here,” the doctor jokes. “I’ve had my nurse call your parents to tell them you’re awake. We’ll be able to send you home as soon as they’re here to sign the release papers and double check on some insurance information. Just take it easy. No sudden movements or strenuous activity, alright?”

Bin nods. “Of course. I’ll be careful.”

The doctor glances at Dongmin, then back at Bin. “I mean it. No strenuous activity until you’re healed and get those stitches out.”

Dongmin coughs loudly, and Bin’s ears flare hot. He nods. “Right. I got it.”

The doctor checks a few things and instructs a nurse to replace his bandages. After a while, the room is quiet again. Dongmin leans against the side of the bed, staring at the floor.

“What now?” Bin asks softly. “I mean, have you heard anything?”

Dongmin shakes his head. “It’s just a waiting game. They say they’ll find him, but, well, you know how he is. He’s managed to stay away for a year and a half, so I don’t have much confidence that they’ll catch him right away.”

Bin leans forward, reaching out for Dongmin. “We’re going to get through this,” Bin says. “I promise.”

Dongmin glances at him. “Are you sure? We’ve barely made it this far.”

Bin nods. “I’m sure. I guarantee we’ll be fine.”

For once, Bin actually believes his words. Things look like they might be leaning towards a happy ending despite all the uncertainty. The long tunnel he’s been in is finally ending, and Bin is sure they’ll make it to the other side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter within 24 hours, as promised! I'll get the next chapter out in a day or two, and wrap up the story~ While you wait, why not leave me a comment? I respond to as may as I can, so leave questions if you want!


	29. Day 442

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ _I call it fate, you are my destiny_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9KpdoSxVZU)

Bin twists, moving as carefully as he can, stopping when he’s lying on his side facing Dongmin. The room is almost completely dark except for the little bit of light bleeding through their heavy curtains (a request from Dongmin, who complained every day about the early morning light hitting him directly in his eyes). Dongmin’s lips are split open slightly as he sleeps. The blanket is pulled up to his jaw, tucked around his back and front. Bin follows the blanket to the end, realizing there are only a few inches left to hang over his side. He smiles, withholding his sigh.

Rather than getting out of bed to make breakfast or take care of the many things on their Saturday to-do list, Bin wiggles close to Dongmin and holds him. Dongmin shifts, too, waking up for a moment just to press his head into Bin’s chest. Bin holds still until Dongmin’s breathing has returned to the deep, even breaths of someone asleep.

In almost ten months, a lot had changed. Both of them have landed pretty stable jobs after getting their high school diplomas (more than a year late), though Bin has hopped between more positions than Dongmin had. They moved in together around four months ago. Move-in day had been hectic and full with more joking and teasing than actual apartment set up. Bin is fairly certain they broke at least one thing, though he can’t remember what it was. They’d spent two nights sleeping on the floor as they waited for their mattress to be delivered. One of them could’ve slept on the couch, but neither wanted to leave the other alone on the floor. Bin never would’ve guessed that pillows could make such a comfortable bed.

Bin glances around their shared bedroom, at the clutter they’ve accumulated. Dongmin’s nightstand is stuffed full of his school books. He swears he’s just a few months study short of getting his degree, but Bin knows his job takes up more time than he wants it to. Bin tries to study, but he’s a bit more focused on finishing writing his book as of late. They’ve made a wall dedicated to their photos. Clipped to strings or pinned directly to the wall, there must be at least 40 photos decorating the wall. 

Dongmin shifts, drawing Bin’s attention. His arm snakes around Bin’s waist, grabbing a handful of his shirt at the back.

“We have a lot to do,” Dongmin mutters sleepily, his words slow and his voice deep. “Right?”

Bin hums. “Yeah, lots to do.”

Dongmin sighs. “I don’t wanna get up.”

Bin smiles. He pushes Dongmin’s hair off his forehead, giving him a gentle kiss on the area exposed. “Cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry,” he lists.

With each word, Dongmin pushes closer to him. “Can you do it all?” Dongmin jokes, tilting his head upwards. “Let me rest for a day?”

“You rested last Saturday,” Bin says.

“Please?”

Bin laughs softly. “Tonight is family dinner, remember?”

Dongmin groans. He pulls away, stretching, before sitting up. “Okay. Can you wash? I’ll make us breakfast and join you down there.”

Bin sits up, kissing Dongmin’s shoulder lightly. “You got it.”

The washroom is on the second floor. Bin rides the elevator down with their two hampers, full of clothes from the last week. Nobody else is in the washroom, so Bin lays down across the bench in the center of the room once putting as many loads to wash at the same time as he can. He’s just going to fall asleep when the door squeaks open.

“Sit up,” Dongmin says. “I bring toast and orange juice.”

Bin groans as he sits up. “Orange juice?”

Dongmin plops down beside him, facing the opposite direction. “Yup. You need to eat more healthily.”

Bin frowns at the drink. “You know I hate orange juice.”

Dongmin giggles. “Just drink it, it’s not that bad.”

Bin loses track of how long they spend in the washroom, but it must be at least two hours. They pile their washed, dried, and folded clothes into their hampers to make the trip back upstairs. While Dongmin puts their clothes away, Bin stands on a chair to clean the hard-to-reach places in their kitchen. Most of their Saturdays pass in quiet like this. Bin loves that they can each be doing their own thing, but still feel together. For a while, when Dongmin had forgotten everything, Bin had thought this reality was one that would evade him. It turned out not to be so, and domestic life had turned out to be better than Bin imagined.

“I’m gonna run to the store,” Dongmin says, startling Bin.

“Right.” Bin twists where he stands on the chair. “Don’t forget—”

“Nesquik, I know.” Dongmin smiles, leaning over to smack Bin’s leg. “Be careful up there. Call me if you think of anything else we need.”

Bin stands in place until he hears the door close. Immediately, he jumps off the chair and runs to his phone in the bedroom. He falls onto the bed as he scoops it up, quickly unlocking it and dialing his best friend and co-worker.

“Minhyuk,” Bin says as soon as his friend answers, “good. Dongmin just left. You have everything, right?”

Minhyuk sighs loudly. “Yeah, man, come on. Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you. Just— This has to be perfect, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Ya know, there’s a ton of people out here. I might not be able to see him come out.”

Bin’s brows pull together. It doesn’t make much sense for there to be a ton of people outside, especially given how their building is in a rather private and quiet place.

“Dude, I think they’re reporters.”

It finally hits Bin what the day is. “Minhyuk, gotta call you back.”

Bin pulls on a jacket over his tank top. He doesn’t bother putting on real shoes, simply snatching his keys and racing to the elevator. He bounces on his feet as he waits eagerly, pressing the call button multiple times. By the time he’s made it to the lobby, however, it’s far too late.;

“Bin, they—”

“Come on,” Bin says, tugging Dongmin by his arm. “We’ll make do for dinner.”

Dongmin stumbles into the elevator with slow steps. Bin pulls Dongmin as far out of sight as he can, hiding Dongmin’s body with his own. He can hear the chattering of the reporters and the flashes of their cameras light up the entire lobby even from beyond the front doors.

“They can’t just leave us alone, can they?” Dongmin whispers as the elevator doors close. “Whatever the court decides for Jingyu has nothing to do with us anymore.”

Bin rubs Dongmin’s arms. “I know. I’m sorry, Dongmin.”

Dongmin shakes his head, wrapping both arms around Bin’s waist. “It’s fine. They’ll go away after the report comes out.”

Bin nods, holding Dongmin tight against his chest. Their lawyer had called last night after the last hearing, swearing that Jingyu would be convicted. He swore that there was too much evidence against Jingyu for him _not_ to be convicted. But Bin can still see the nervousness in Dongmin’s gaze every time Jingyu is brought up. It’s been a long, grueling process, and if they don’t come out on top—

Dongmin is the one to tug Bin out of the elevator. “I’ll just go later,” he says. “I mean, it should be on the news at noon, right? And then they’ll go away.”

Bin nods. “Right, of course. We still have a lot of cleaning to do, though. I also think I left some stuff in the washroom, so I have to go grab it.”

Dongmin nods, pushing open their apartment door. “I’ll be here.”

Bin smiles, pressing a quick kiss to Dongmin’s lips. “I’ll be back.”

In the elevator again, Bin leans against the side. Everything seems to have lined up in the worst way possible. An event so bad matching up on the same day as something so great— Bin sighs, pulling out his phone to call Minhyuk again.

“New plan?”

Bin laughs. “Yeah, new plan. You still have the second keycard, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Let yourself into the building and come to the laundry room on the second floor. I’ll take the stuff from you there. The reporters are down here for us, because of—”

“Yeah, I figured. On my way.”

Bin makes it to the laundry room before Minhyuk does. The look on Minhyuk’s face is priceless, however.

“Dude, what are you _wearing_?”

Bin looks down at himself. “What? It’s not that bad.”

“The reporters got pictures of you in that?”

Bin sighs, snatching the bag from Minhyuk. “Shut up. Actually, though, I need you to do something else for me, too.”

Minhyuk sighs, tossing his head back. When he pulls his head back up, his too-long bangs flop into his eyes. “You’re lucky we’re such good friends.”

And so Bin goes back to the apartment, leaving Minhyuk with a list of the food he needs to buy for them. Dongmin is washing dishes when Bin returns, so Bin drops the bag of decorations beside the couch, out of view.

“Find what you were looking for?” Dongmin asks. “I’m just getting through the dishes before noon.”

Bin nods. “Yup. I also found Minhyuk in the area and sent him on a grocery run for us.”

Dongmin looks up from the sink. “You’re serious?”

Bin nods again.

“We need to start paying him for all the favors he does,” Dongmin says. “I mean, I know he’s your friend, but like, that’s more than best friend level. That’s like brother-level.”

Bin laughs, flopping onto the couch. “Yeah, we’re pretty close. You knew that though.”

As Dongmin takes care of the dishes, Bin dusts their small living area. The minutes are ticking past in silence. Normally the silence wouldn’t cause any extra thoughts, but so close to a moment that could change everything— Well, Bin is sure both of them are having the same thoughts. With everything dusted, Bin falls onto their couch for a moment to relax.

The sink squeaks as Dongmin shuts off the water. He’s quiet for a moment, staring into the sink. Bin waits, patient as always, for Dongmin to process his thoughts.

“Bin?”

Bin hums in acknowledgement.

“What if they let him off?”

In the six months since the police first caught Jingyu, neither of them have spoken that thought aloud. They’ve both thought it, obviously, but saying it made it seem too much of a possibility. Bin pushes himself up from the couch, his shoes loud against the floor as he walks to Dongmin. Dongmin immediately faces him, hugging him loosely.

“What if they say he’s innocent?” Dongmin whispers, lips brushing against Bin’s collarbone. “What if he gets out and he— You know he’ll come after me, after you again.”

“He won’t get off that easy,” Bin assures, rubbing Dongmin’s back gently. “I promise. And if he does, well, I’ll make sure he gets put away for something else, then. I’ll arrest him myself and lock him up somewhere to die.”

Dongmin chuckles softly. “We agreed that you could be a cop if you wouldn’t get involved, remember?”

Bin nods, kissing Dongmin’s cheek. “Yeah, I remember. With your _permission_ , I’ll lock him up somewhere to die.”

Dongmin rolls his eyes. “Okay, Superman, calm down. Let’s just…” Dongmin swallows. “Let’s see what they say.”

Bin takes Dongmin’s hand, leading him back to the couch. They settle in close together as Bin turns on their TV and flips to the right channel.

The reporter looks solemn on the screen. “...outside the Seoul courtroom where the jury is giving their verdict on the case of Kim Jingyu. Kim is being charged on multiple fronts, from the issue of stealing a bus and injuring multiple people to attempting to kill two people with a bomb almost nine months ago. Kim is also being charged for grand theft auto and theft in the time between the bomb and when police finally caught up with him six months ago. The media has—”

“Can’t they just get to it?” Dongmin asks. He’s squeezing Bin’s hand, but Bin doesn’t care. He knows this is hard for Dongmin especially.

The reporter stops talking for a moment, pressing a hand to her ear. “I’ve just received word from our correspondent in the courtroom. The jury and judge have found Kim Jingyu guilty. He has been sentenced to serve life in prison without parole. This verdict comes after two months of deliberation—”

“Wait, wait.” Dongmin snatches the remote, rewinding the channel. At noticing the tears welling up in Dongmin’s eyes, Bin can feel tears start to sting in his eyes as well.

Dongmin hits play, leaning forward with the remote clutched in both hands. The reporter speaks, repeating what she had said.

“—from our correspondent in the courtroom. The jury and judge have found Kim Jingyu guilty. He has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. This verdict—”

The TV pauses, leaving the reporter mid-sentence. Silence hangs in the room until Dongmin gasps, a hand clapping over his mouth.

It takes fifteen minutes before Dongmin’s tears of joy have stopped. Bin wipes at his cheeks the whole time, laughing at Dongmin’s blubbering speech. His mom calls nearly as soon as Dongmin has his tears under control, and Bin holds onto Dongmin as he talks to his mom (and his dad for a few minutes, as well). Dongmin leans against Bin’s chest even once he’s off the phone, just quiet.

The silence is ruined by a loud knock. Dongmin tumbles off the couch before Bin can move, beating him to the door by a long shot. Minhyuk steps in, holding up grocery bags in both hands.

Minhyuk sighs. “Where do you want these?”

The afternoon hours pass quickly. Bin decorates the living room. His plan to surprise Dongmin has been foiled, so he leaves out the “happy 500 days” banner. Once decorated, the living room is left alone as Bin helps Dongmin finish up cooking (which really means he stands nearby for moral support, because Dongmin still doesn’t trust him to cook). Bin sets their table that’s really only fit to seat six; they’ll have to make do with their six guests sitting on the good chairs and the two of them sitting on the fold out chairs they bought last week. They have thirty minutes until seven when they start preparing themselves, changing into better clothes than their shorts, sweats, tank tops and shirts. Bin still wears his shorts, but they’re at least better ones. Dongmin opts for a polo and nice pants. He tries to talk Bin into a tie, but Bin vehemently rejects Dongmin’s advances to strap one around his neck. (“You want me to wear a tie with _shorts_? Come on, Dongmin.”) Dongmin is setting the glasses on the table when there’s a buzz from downstairs.

Bin rushes to their door, pushing the button by their door. “Hello?”

“It’s us, Bin!” his sister calls, her voice warped by the speaker. “Let us up!”

Bin presses the button to buzz them up. “It’s 4E, guys. Don’t get lost this time.”

Dongmin’s parents and brother arrive a few minutes after Bin’s parents and sister. Their apartment wasn’t made for eight people to be walking around and talking, but they make do somehow, hands on shoulders as they side step each other and bumping backs in tight spaces. Bin manages to steal off to their bedroom for a quick moment, shutting and locking the door behind himself.

The ring is stored in a box, inside a sock, wrapped up in a shirt in a backpack in the back of their closet. It’s been sitting there for three weeks, waiting for the right moment. Dongmin doesn’t know it, but everybody else knows. Bin wanted to tell them so they knew what to expect. In all honestly, however, Bin is the least prepared person on the planet. He has no idea what he’s going to say.

The ring is burning a hole in his leg the entire night. He sits beside Dongmin at the table, their metal chairs stuck between the nicer chairs that match their table. Sua is chatting with Donghwi from across the table. Bin’s mom sits between his dad and Dongmin’s mom. Dongmin had set some quiet music to play, though Bin is pretty sure Dongmin’s dad is the one who switched it to a pop station. When Bin pushes back from the table, it only catches Dongmin’s attention. Bin smiles a little, walking to turn off the music.

That serves as enough of a cue. The room falls quiet, seven pairs of eyes landing on Bin as he stands behind his chair. Bin doesn’t dare reach for the ring yet, as he’s certain his sweaty hands will drop it immediately.

“I wanted to thank everybody for coming,” Bin says. “It really means a lot to us, Dongmin and I, that we have such supportive people around us. The last two years haven’t been easy for anybody, but, I just wanted to say thanks.”

Dongmin pats Bin’s hand, smiling up at him.

“And I wanted to ask something.”

Dongmin sits up a little more, and Bin smiles down at him before straightening up a little.

“I didn’t know what to call it at first,” Bin says. “I’m sure Dongmin and I have gone over this enough with you guys, but we were trapped. For the year and a half Dongmin and I were in a coma, we were with each other.”

Bin’s mom nods in understanding, as does Dongmin’s younger brother. They’ve all heard the story. Though a single one of them doesn’t have a reason why, they know the time loops as a truth of Dongmin and Bin’s relationship.

“I’ve realized lately that this all can only be one thing,” Bin continues. “It’s fate. Despite every bad thing that’s come out of the situation, good has come, too. I mean, I guess what I’m trying to say is that, despite everything bad, these last two years have been a life changer in a good way. Without everything that went wrong, I wouldn’t have met Dongmin.”

Bin glances at Dongmin, who’s wearing a wide smile.

“I wouldn’t have fallen in love with one the most beautiful, smart, motivated men on the planet.” Bin twists his hand, slipping his fingers between Dongmin’s. His mom has her phone out, recording as discreetly as she can. “So, I call it fate. The time loop, the recovery, Dongmin losing his memories, the struggles we’ve both faced up until today, all of it is fate. And there’s only one part missing from my life. It’s where I feel fate has been driving me towards since day one. So I come back to what I said: I want to ask something.”

Bin takes in a deep breath. He pulls his hand away from Dongmin’s and takes a few steps back. Thankfully his shorts are good to wipe his palms on. Bin pulls the ring box out of his pocket, kneeling on one knee. Dongmin’s hands immediately fly to cover his mouth.

“Dongmin,” Bin says, unable to fight his smile, “I love you. You know that I love you, but that’s not enough. I want the world to know that I love you. I told you once, in front of a sunset, that I didn’t want anyone else to have you. That’s still true. You once told me that I wasn’t alone because I had you, and I still think about that every day. Even in the face of danger, you promised that you would never leave me. I hope that’s still true, because I want you by my side for the rest of our lives, however long they may be. I want to be by your side every day, through every weird time loop and bad decision and hangover and loss. I want to be by your side, and I really hope you want to be by mine.” Bin swallows. “Will you marry me?”

Dongmin is nodding before the question is even out of Bin’s mouth fully. He pulls his hands away from his mouth, laughing as he gets to his feet. Bin gets up, too, taking Dongmin’s outstretched hand once he’s pulled the ring out of the box. Dongmin barely glances at the ring, however. Both arms sling around Bin’s shoulders with such force that Bin stumbles backwards, laughing at the force of Dongmin’s embrace. For a moment the room is blurry.

“You’re crying?” Sua asks suddenly. “Bin, how _lame_ can you be?”

Dongmin is laughing then, the sound close to Bin’s ear. Bin wants to hear that laugh every day for the rest of his life. It looks like he’ll get that chance. Bin feels arms wrap around his side, and then they’re all huddled together, Bin and Dongmin at the center of it. This is how it should always be.

For the rest of dinner, Dongmin is wiping at his eyes, glancing at his ring, and stealing kisses from Bin. They stand close together as they wish their families safe travels on their ways back home. In the silence that follows their departure, Bin turns to Dongmin, holding him close.

“You really had to propose in front of everybody, didn’t you?” Dongmin asks softly. “You’re such a sap.”

Bin smiles, kissing Dongmin’s jaw. “Yeah, well, I felt it was only right that your parents get to see you get engaged after they thought you’d never get married.”

Dongmin pulls back, mouth wide. “Did they say that?”

Bin nods. “Yep. Your dad told me that himself.”

Dongmin scoffs. “Of course he did. I’m gonna need you two to stop talking about me behind my back.”

Bin laughs. “No promises, but okay.”

Dongmin wraps his arms tightly around Bin’s shoulders. As they stand there, Bin knows one thing to be true: he’s holding his entire world in his arms. In whatever comes from now, and through anything that develops from the past, Bin will always be able to hold his entire world in his arms. Things may change or go wrong, but Bin will always have Dongmin, and Dongmin will always have him. At the end of the day, nothing can _really_ go wrong if they have each other. As long as Dongmin loves him, Bin will be fine. Even when crawling through a dark tunnel, Bin knows that Dongmin will always be there, the light at the very end. Their lives were spun together like this because of fate, and in the end, fate will always keep them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are, the end of _No Tomorrow_. As a parting gift, [here's a Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/oownue/playlist/1qZ5k9J5XKgqBmh6CLEdTc?si=tDs6PP8EStGBBYrgi_B3GA) of all the songs in the summaries of the chapters!
> 
> It's such a bittersweet feeling, isn't it? There were a few times while writing that I was certain I would never get here. I struggled writing, and I took a break in the middle of writing that I thought I would never come back from. This story has become a part of me, and I'm so glad that I've been able to share it with everybody here. It's hard to put into words how I feel at the response this story has gotten. I'm so thankful to every person who has supported _No Tomorrow_. Your kudos and comments truly mean the world to me, so thank you. Whether you have been reading every chapter as it came out since chapter one, or whether you're reading this long after this last chapter has been posted, thank you for supporting me and this story.


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